Patsy McGarry

6 days ago | irishtimes.com | Patsy McGarry

Well, that was a surprise. “I’m still in shock,” said Fr John Nahrgang of the diocese of Phoenix in Arizona. He was standing among the throng in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican after Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was introduced, urbi et orbi, as Pope Leo XIV. “Of all the American cardinals, he’s probably – in my view – the American cardinal with the most international experience, because he served as a bishop in South America and because he headed up a Vatican congregation.

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Patsy McGarry

“He who enters a conclave as pope emerges as a cardinal” goes the saying, so picking the likely winner of the papal election following the death of Pope Francis is fraught with difficulty.

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Patsy McGarry

As the cardinals proceeded into St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican for a pre-conclave Mass on Wednesday morning, it was striking just how old they were. Then, they were appointed because of their experience, with almost half of them aged over 80, meaning they will not be able to vote on who succeeds Pope Francis. Among the procession was Cardinal Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, who celebrated Mass and is 91.

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Patsy McGarry

Even at this late stage, commentators remain uncertain as to who is most likely to be elected the next pope. In the field of “papabiles” – the cardinals considered potential candidates to be pope – all is speculation. The contender whose odds have waxed and waned most since the death of Pope Francis last month is Cardinal Pietro Parolin (70). An Italian, he would be seen as the continuity candidate par excellence; he was Vatican secretary of state for most of Francis’s papacy.

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Patsy McGarry

All eyes will be on a small chimney on the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel today as the Catholic Church’s most senior leaders meet to elect a successor to Pope Francis. The vote takes place in secret inside the famous 15th century chapel with only the colour of the smoke revealing whether the new pontiff has been elected. The ballots of the 133 voting cardinals are burned after each vote. If the smoke from the chimney is black, it is a signal that no pope has been elected.