The most senior Roman Catholic in England and Wales told the reporters that it was “immensely peaceful” to be cut off from the outside world during the conclave to select the new Pope.
Pope Leo XIV was elected Thursday after 133 cardinals were locked within the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, including Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.
In an interview with Newsline Breakfast on Saturday, he said that there was “no rancour” or “politicking” among the cardinals, and that no one was deciding who to vote for or not.
The Sistine Chapel has hosted conclaves since the fifteenth century, and until a new pope is chosen, cardinals are not allowed to communicate with the outside world. The current conclave followed Pope Francis’s death on April 21.
When his cell phone was taken away from him, Cardinal Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, claimed to have “more time on my hands just to be prayerful, just to reflect, just to be still, rather than being constantly agitated… or prompted by what might be coming in” on his phone.
“For me, one of the lessons of these last few days was acquiring a bit of endurance, to just take this phase step by step,” he explained.
“There was a calmness, a bit of solemnity,” he added, adding that everyone he spoke to was “peaceful and just wanting to do this well” during that time.
Given that cardinals must be under 80 to be eligible to vote, Cardinal Nichols was among the conclave’s oldest cardinals at 79.
A conclave to elect a new Pope has no set time limit; the two-day conclaves in 2005 and 2013 were the longest. Pope Leo was elected during a one-day conclave.
“I feel it was a short conclave in part because Pope Francis provided us with a good inheritance,” added the cardinal.
“He left an institution of cardinals who were committed and had a hunger for the Catholic Church to be greater missionary, and that led us onward actually very, very easily to the conclusion that we made.”
Delegations from all around the world will attend the solemn inauguration of Pope Leo on May 18 during a liturgy in St. Peter’s Square.
On behalf of King Charles, Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, will be present, Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday.
Regarding the new pope, Cardinal Nichols stated that he has witnessed Pope Leo “make decisions which disappoint people but don’t destroy them” and that he is “very decisive” in a “quiet way.””A great aspect regarding a pope is if he’s prepared to say, ‘No’, to you if he feels something is not good and then offer you a hug so you don’t go away upset, and I believe he’s got that capability to do either of those, which is very significant.”
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