Conclave to Select a New Pope

[Somebody]

The new pope discussed possible papal names with his brother (John; he also has a brother Louis, who has a daughter Kimberly) before the conclave, so he himself was clearly aware that there was a chance he might end up as pope.

 

[doro]

Funny that there never have Pope Peter again

 

[An Ard Ri]

I was somewhat surprised at Cardinal Prevost election as Pope as I was anticipating another Italian Papacy.
I will reserve my judgement for now but was struck at how emotional he was infront of the crowds at St Peters Square.
The new Pope is reported to be a natural diplomat and has called for peace and dialogue.
He will celebrate his first Mass as Pontiff later today at the Sistine Chapel.

 

[hereditarytitles]

Nice article about Pope Leo and good news for the Wordle lovers:

The new Pope talks with his brother John on the phone , sometimes every day - about politics, religion and the daily Wordle. John Prevost does not know whether this will still be possible in the future: “Let's see how much time he will have as Pope.” During the interview, John Prevost also noticed that he had missed calls from the new Pope. Without further ado, he called back.

Leo XIV.: Weltoffen, politisch und Wordle-Spieler – So tickt der neue Papst - WELT

Kenner erwarten, dass der neue Papst Leo XIV. zwar den Reformkurs seines Vorgängers fortsetzen wird. Gleichzeitig dürfte der US-Amerikaner noch politischer sein – und sich besonders für eine Sache einsetzen.

www.welt.de

 

[suztav]

Villanova proud!!!

 

[Linda_26]

A video from the day Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, was created Cardinal by Pope Francis, less than two years ago (30 September 2023):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1920592911105708439

 

[An Ard Ri]

Reports of over 300,000 in and round the Vatican after the White smoke , there were numerous Spanish ,French,Belgian ,US,Mexican ,Polish ,Italian flags and I did spot British ,Dutch,German,Swedish ,Lebanese and Iraqi flags too!

 

[Adda]

Reports of over 300,000 in and round the Vatican after the White smoke , there were numerous Spanish ,French,Belgian ,US,Mexican ,Polish ,Italian flags and I did spot British ,Dutch,German,Swedish ,Lebanese and Iraqi flags too!

I spotted Syrian, Venezuelan, Brazilian, Australian and South Korean flags!

 

[An Ard Ri]

I spotted Syrian, Venezuelan, Brazilian, Australian and South Korean flags!

There was a sea of flags and wonderful to see them all.

Former One Direction singer ,Harry Styles was spotted in the crowds at Saint Peter's Square yesterday
Harry Styles fans go wild as pop star spotted at the Vatican

 

[ppetrica]

Leo XIV is said to be a bit less progressive than Fransic, but also calm, quiet, thoughtful and down to earth, apparently a very good diplomat, and to eventually continue where Francis had left.

I think the problem is that after Francis many people expected new pope to be even more proactive, a lot more.

Francis was the one to send initial shock waves. I think Leo will now try to heal the divide caused by those shock waves and then slowly but steadily continue Francis’s work. Being loud and aggressive can scare people and put them off. But being slow and persistent has better results long term. In time more people will accept the inevitable changes. You can’t force a person to change their feelings and beliefs. It has to come naturally. And that often takes time.

So I have faith in Leo XIV.

 

[Magnolia471]

To be honest, I am a little upset that an American pope was chosen...It does not seem like a good time to elect one.

 

[Linda_26]

Francis was the one to send initial shock waves. I think Leo will now try to heal the divide caused by those shock waves and then slowly but steadily continue Francis’s work. Being loud and aggressive can scare people and put them off. But being slow and persistent has better results long term. In time more people will accept the inevitable changes. You can’t force a person to change their feelings and beliefs. It has to come naturally. And that often takes time.

So I have faith in Leo XIV.

Me too. To make a comparison, I hope Pope Leo will be to Pope Francis what Paul VI was to John XXIII

(...)

 

[An Ard Ri]

(...)

The European domination of the Papacy is over and the RC church is on a downward spiral in most European countries.
The RC church has actually grown in the USA ,Africa and Asia and the Papacy should reflect that.

 

[Gawin]

Me too. To make a comparison, I hope Pope Leo will be to Pope Francis what Paul VI was to John XXIII.

I actually think it's a pretty good time (in 1978, it was also a good time to have a pope from a Communist country, to make another comparison).
And I've seen people (here on the Italian media) refer to the new Pope as "the least American of Americans".

Me too. To make a comparison, I hope Pope Leo will be to Pope Francis what Paul VI was to John XXIII.

I actually think it's a pretty good time (in 1978, it was also a good time to have a pope from a Communist country, to make another comparison).
And I've seen people (here on the Italian media) refer to the new Pope as "the least American of Americans".

He's spent most of his adult life in Peru and Rome, so he's definitely the least American of the American Cardinals.

 

[ppetrica]

... the RC church is on a downward spiral in most European countries.
The RC church has actually grown in the USA ,Africa and Asia and the Papacy should reflect that.

I agree.
And for that reason I think that Europe actually now needs a non-European Pope more than ever.

 

[Hans-Rickard]

Let’s now wait and see how Pope Leo will govern and how he will behave.

People was dissapointed when John Paul II was elected too because he was polish, when Benedict XVI was elected because he was too old, and when Francis was elected because he was not a traditionalist…

Yet their church still stands… I’m sure it will be standing after this pontificate too

 

[Linda_26]

I was wondering- is Pope Leo the first US citizen in history to become a reigning monarch?
I thought of Albert II of Monaco, through his mother, but I've read that he renounced his American citizenship as a young adult. Are there any others, perhaps in extra-European monarchies?

 

[GondorHasNoPants]

And will he still be required to file a US tax return? If yes, can you imagine being the IRS agent who handles it?

I was wondering- is Pope Leo the first US citizen in history to become a reigning monarch?
I thought of Albert II of Monaco, through his mother, but I've read that he renounced his American citizenship as a young adult. Are there any others, perhaps in extra-European monarchies?

Rama IX of Thailand was born in the United States, and is listed in his Wikipedia article as 'the only monarch to be born in the US until the 2025 papal conclave'. There is no mention of whether he definitely gained citizenship through place of birth, or later renounced it if he did.

This article has a nice list of American royalty, by birth or by marriage.

The coverage in the last 24 hours has eased my initial reservations about the new pope. He seems like a genuinely good man, and I think he will do a good job.

But I also saw a clip on the news this morning of a group of Americans walking through the square outside St. Peter's chanting 'USA, USA, USA', which made me sigh so loud I scared my cat.

 

[Prinsara]

But I also saw a clip on the news this morning of a group of Americans walking through the square outside St. Peter's chanting 'USA, USA, USA', which made me sigh so loud I scared my cat.

To be fair: Americans do that when they are happy or proud, not necessarily as a sign of anything worse. See: 1980 Winter Olympics.

 

[TLLK]

I was wondering- is Pope Leo the first US citizen in history to become a reigning monarch?
I thought of Albert II of Monaco, through his mother, but I've read that he renounced his American citizenship as a young adult. Are there any others, perhaps in extra-European monarchies?

I had not even considered the fact that the Pope is a monarch yet.

 

[meeralakshmi]

I had not even considered the fact that the Pope is a monarch yet.

Andorra is also a monarchy, their co-princes are the bishop of Urgell and the president of France.

 

[Adda]

Here is the official record confirming that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost accepted the election canonically making him Supreme Pontiff and the name he has chosen.

The document was drawn up by the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, Monsignor Diego Giovanni Ravelli.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1920851629512786072

 

[doro]

the Pope is a White Sox fan, but the Cubs on their X account has congratulated him.

 

[Linda_26]

Rama IX of Thailand was born in the United States, and is listed in his Wikipedia article as 'the only monarch to be born in the US until the 2025 papal conclave'. There is no mention of whether he definitely gained citizenship through place of birth, or later renounced it if he did.

This article has a nice list of American royalty, by birth or by marriage.

Thanks! So, the new Pope is the second US-born reigning monarch in history. And he might be the first ever to also be a US citizen, depending on whether Rama IX renounced his citizenship or not. I have no idea, as I'm not really famiiar with the Thai monarchy.

I had not even considered the fact that the Pope is a monarch yet.

The only absolute monarch in Europe, indeed. Leo XIV is, besides being the 267th Pope and Bishop of Rome, the 9th sovereign of the Vatican city State since the Lateran Treaty in 1929 between the then Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Funny that there never have Pope Peter again

Why there is not a Pope Peter II

MSN

 

[Mbruno]

I was wondering- is Pope Leo the first US citizen in history to become a reigning monarch?
I thought of Albert II of Monaco, through his mother, but I've read that he renounced his American citizenship as a young adult. Are there any others, perhaps in extra-European monarchies?

This is actually an interesting legal issue. Originally in the United States, holding a policy-level position in a foreign country, when accompanied by acquisition of the nationality of that country, was an expatriating act that led to loss of US nationality. In fact, that is still the case in US federal law with the caveat that, due to a particular ruling of the US Supreme Court, the law has been amended to say that loss of US nationality is only possible if the expatriating act is accompanied by a voluntary intention to relinquish US nationality.

In practical terms, I believe the US State Department no longer pursues denaturalization cases against US citizens who hold foreign government positions unless they explicit declare to a US consular officer that they want to relinquish US nationality, not least because, in any legal proceedings, the burden to prove such intention, if not explicitly declared, would be on the United States. The current US State Department guidance, however, affirms that a possible exception is when a US citizen become the head of state or head of government of another country as t foreign heads of state might enjoy absolute immunity from US jurisdiction, which can in turn create conflicts with certain responsibilities of US citizenship.

I doubt Pope Leo will be denaturalized in the United States, but, again, his situation raises interesting legal questions. By the way, I suppose that he has held Vatican citizenship ex-officio at least since 2023, when he was appointed to the Dicastery of Bishops.

 

[Somebody]

It seemed that for some people Prevost came as a surprise, so I checked 10 somewhat random lists of 'papabile' from different sources (some more general news outlets and others Catholic-focused) and in different languages - the number of 'papabiles' on the lists varied between 6 and 22. There were only 2 Cardinals that showed up in all 10 lists, then there is a clear 'second group' of frontrunners that were mentioned by the majority of sources. Prevost was among a third group that was mentioned multiple times but was clearly not on everyone's mind.

Top-2 contenders:
Luis Antonio Tagle - Philippines, 67 (10x)
Pietro Parolin - Italy, 70 (10x)

Other frontrunners (6-9x):
Pierbattista Pizzabella - Italy, 60 (9x)
Peter Erdö - Hungary, 72 (8x)
Fridolin Ambongo Besungo - DRC, 65 (7x)
Anders Arborelius - Sweden, 75 (6x)
Mario Grech - Malta, 68 (6x)
Matteo Maria Zuppi - Italy, 69 (6x)
Peter Turkson - Ghana, 76 (6x)

Third group (3-4x):
Charles Maung Bo - Myanmar, 76 (4x)
Jean-Marc Aveline - France, 66 (4x)
Robert Francis Prevost - USA/Peru, 69 (4x)
Robert Sarah - Guinea, 78 (3x)
Timothy Dolan - USA (3x)

There were 3 others mentioned 2 times; and 20 mentioned by only one source.


The 4 sources that included Prevost in their lists were:
- RFI (France): out of 15
- NOS (Netherlands): out of 6
- Angelus News (Catholic news source in LA, USA): out of 9
- Daily Tribune (Philippines): out of 16

 

[Somebody]

Apparently, during the 4th (and final) round, Robert Prevost received more than 100 votes (out of 133); he needed 89 for a two-third majority.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The Front Runners this time last week were
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa
Cardinal Kevin Farrell

The first ballot reportedly saw Parolin ahead
The Second ballot (May 8, Morning): Support for Parolin was the same but no increase
The Third ballot (May 8, Afternoon): Prevost secured at least 89 votes and Parolin votes had declined.
The Fourth ballot: A fourth vote was held, with Prevost receiving more than 100 votes and was elected Pope.

 

[Mbruno]

The Front Runners this time last week were
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa
Cardinal Kevin Farrell

The first ballot reportedly saw Parolin ahead
The Second ballot (May 8, Morning): Support for Parolin was the same but no increase
The Third ballot (May 8, Afternoon): Prevost secured at least 89 votes and Parolin votes had declined.
The Fourth ballot: A fourth vote was held, with Prevost receiving more than 100 votes and was elected Pope.

What I read in the NYT is that Prevost was supported by a coalition of voters from Latin America, the USA, and other English-speaking countries in the Commonwealth. That is very credible based on post-election interviews that I saw with cardinals from those regions.

Parolin apparently had a strong showing in the first ballot, but did not secure the backing of the Asian and African blocs. Apparently the Asians were divided, as were also the Europeans. The conservative vote, which included many African voters, was split between Erdo, Ranjith, and apparently Pizzaballa. The ultraliberal vote was also split among many candidates like Aveline and Grech It looks like Zuppi and Tolentino de Mendonça were never real contenders and that Tagle lost votes to another fellow Filipino cardinal (David).

On the second day, votes started to migrate to Prevost, beginning according to the Italian papers with the Tagle supporters. The Italian media are saying then, between the third and the final fourth vote, Parolin basically withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Prevost.

As always, this is just gossip that cannot be verified, but the practical fact is that Prevost checked many boxes and matched the profile that most cardinal electors wanted, so if there were a split in the first ballot, he would be likely to emerge as a consensus candidate. The bloc vote of the Latin Amercans and US cardinals was enough to put him among the frontrunners in the first ballot and draw the attention of the other cardinals.