REPORTAGE – On Wednesday, some 135 cardinals aged under the age of 80 will cut themselves off from the world, the time it will take, to discern which among them is the most able to lead the Catholic Church. An unprecedented mission for the majority of them.
The purple barrettes and the ductins have dispersed. Calm has returned Place Saint-Pierre. Soon, maybe this week, the name of the 267th pope will escape from the Balcony of the Basilica.
Where is this man now? Each day, he treads the cobblestones of Rome to go to general congregations. Before entering the closed -door of the Conclave on Wednesday, May 7, he prays, discusses, circulates in the company of the 134 other cardinals voters from around the world. Everyone does not know who will be the successor of the Peter Apostle and will hold the keys of the church at the start of the XXIe century. “It’s an unprecedented experience”, says Cardinal Aveline with a serious smile. “Pray so that we are lucid, courageous and free”, adds the Franciscan of Ajaccio, Mgr Bustillo, whom François created Cardinal a year and a half ago. Twelve years ago, when Jorge Bergoglio had left Argentina to join the conclave in Rome, thinking of returning a few weeks later …
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