The Conclave

by Fr. Roger J. Landry - April 15, 2005

On Monday, 115 Cardinal electors will enter the Sistine Chapel and begin their work of discerning, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the one God the Father will reveal as the living rock on whom Jesus will continue to build his church.

They will enter the conclave — "with a key" locked within the Sistine — in order to determine the one whom God wants to be entrusted with the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

But what happens behind those closed doors is not just an act of 115 men. It is an act of the whole Church. We are called to participate intimately in their deliberations. The most recent holder of those keys, Pope John Paul II, expressed this quite clearly in his instructions for the conclave:

"Following the example of the first Christian community spoken of in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 1:14), the universal Church, spiritually united with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, should persevere with one heart in prayer; thus the election of the new Pope will not be something unconnected with the People of God and concerning the College of electors alone, but will be in a certain sense an act of the whole Church."

Pope John Paul II cited as a model the time in the early Church when the apostles needed to fill the office vacated by Judas. The whole community of disciples convened in prayer, together with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and two candidates were nominated. They prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take this place in this ministry and apostleship." Trusting in God, they cast lots and the lot fell to the man who, through his fidelity to the mission he then assumed, became St. Matthias.

That prayer, "Show us which one … you have chosen to take this place," is the prayer John Paul II wanted to be the one of both the Cardinals and the entire Church.

Many in the U.S. media have struggled with how to understand and convey what will happen next week. When they hear the term "election," they view it through the prism of American electoral processes. They ask about how papal aspirants "campaign" behind closed doors. They label the major candidates in terms of the conventional categories of "conservative" and "liberal." They describe their putative "constituencies." They list the major issues facing the next pope often on the basis of the "wish lists" of particular "interest groups" who seek to change Church "policy" in one or more areas.

When any mention is made that Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit plays the decisive role in the conclave, many in the media treat it as a religious school boy's naïvete or as a claim to a divine rubber stamp of a candidate no matter who is elected. The active role of God in the election is just not understood.

There's a reason for this. Most Americans, including most American Catholics, seem no longer to seek the will of God when they vote. They think of whom they want rather than whom God wants. They're not accustomed to praying before they vote and many do not see even why they should pray. They look at voting as an exercise in expressing preferences — like we do for Coke or Pepsi — rather than as something sacred in which we open ourselves up to God and express — anonymously before others, but plainly before God and ourselves — who we are by what we value most.

My hope is that this conclave will not only lead to the selection of a truly holy father to shepherd Christ's flock, but that it will also serve as a lesson for the world about how voting and prayer go together.

"Show us which one you have chosen." This goes first for the Cardinals, who are trying prayerfully to discern, with the Holy Spirit's help, whom God wants. God's indication will not happen because a dove will fly into the Sistine and rest on one of the Cardinals. It will happen by their prayerfully discerning what are the true needs of the Church's mission today for the salvation and sanctification of men and women and who is the man God has best prepared with the character and gifts that will best meet those needs.

But "show us which one you have chosen" should also be the prayer of the entire people of God. The man who will soon come out on St. Peter's loggia will be the one whom God has chosen to be the vicar of Christ on earth. He will be the one to continue St. Peter's mission in the world and shepherd Christ's flock with truth and love. The docility and welcome we give him will be the docility and welcome we have for the God who will show him to us.

Pentecost came almost immediately after God revealed Matthias to the early Church as the one whom he had chosen. Their docility toward God continued as the Holy Spirit gave them tongues of fire to proclaim his saving Gospel with ardent love. May the revelation of the new successor of St. Peter lead to similar docility, so that the Holy Spirit may be able to bring about a new Pentecost in our own day!

Father Roger J. Landry is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in New Bedford, MA and Executive Editor of The Anchor, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River.