Only hours after having left the Synod Hall, Paul Poupard, an 82-year-old French cardinal, looks back to describe the “quick election” of Pope Benedict XVI.
“During Karol Wojtyla’s funeral, Ratzinger, the dean, raised his arm towards the window of the papal study so as to invite his spiritual presence. I understood there and then that the conclave was over before it had even begun,” explains Poupard, who is a former Vatican Minister for Culture and Interreligious Dialogue, appointed cardinal in 1985 and admitted to the conclave in 2005.
“It is impossible to describe the truly unique emotions I experienced during that time in the presence of Michelangelo’s Last Judgement.”
How is this conclave different from the one held in 2005?
“At the General Congregations, I knew almost everyone there and I was able to get to know those I was less familiar with right away. Eight years ago we were presided over by a dean who then entered the conclave, whereas this time Cardinal Sodano will not be participating in the election of the pope. Joseph Ratzinger guided us from the pre-conclave phase to the conclave. His homily at St Peter’s emotionally and spiritually united the College of Cardinals. John Paul II’s illness had been a long one and we were already psychologically prepared to elect his successor. This time the situation is radically different: Benedict XVI’s resignation was really a bolt from the blue for all of us.”
What was voting in the Sistine Chapel like?
“It was like crossing over to the other side of the square. I was in St Peter’s when Roncalli was elected and on the morning the conclave began I had breakfast with one of his electors. Five years later I was working in the Secretariat of State and Montini became pope. When it was my turn to participate in a papal election, I participated in this extraordinarily intense and important event in the most natural way. I can remember every moment, every phase. The time scheduled to enter the conclave and hold the swearing-in ceremony for the election of the new pope was Monday, 18th April 2005 at 4.30pm. A quarter of an hour beforehand we met in the Hall of Blessings, the first loggia in St Peter’s Basilica. We were all wearing our red cassocks, rochets and mozzettas. Led by the Cross and the Gospels and singing the Litany of Saints, we walked in procession to the Sistine Chapel where we were sworn in. My voice trembled with emotion while I recited the Veni Creator.”
What was the atmosphere like?
“The Sistine Chapel was being restored. We sat down on uncomfortable wooden benches, like the kind found in schools. There was total silence in the Hall of Blessings. I had never been surrounded by total silence despite the many people gathered in the same place. As soon as the procession got underway, the psychological block dissolved. The atmosphere was serious and serene. I particularly remember the Hymn to the Holy Spirit. It was the most extraordinary version I’ve ever sung. I was walking in the procession between the German Cardinal Wetter (Ratzinger’s successor in Munich) and the Filipino Cardinal Vidal whom I’ve encountered in these Congregations with the same smile.”
And in the Domus Sanctae Marthae?
“Coaches were on hand to ferry us between the Domus and the Sistine Chapel and vice-versa. However I always walked. The air was pleasant, it refreshed the mind. I would cross the inner courtyards, St Peter’s apse, St Damasus, the lift, chatting with brethren. We also spoke openly at mealtimes, quite serenely. When dinner was over, we would all spontaneously gather in St Martha’s chapel for prayer. As soon as I’d reach my room, I’d fall asleep. I slept very well.”