Most people at the Vatican seem confident there will be a new pope by next Sunday. Whoever the next Vicar of Christ is remains to be seen but the countdown is on and bookmakers are even taking wagers. Is that a sin?
Leading favorites are CARDINAL PETER TURKSON, CARDINAL ANGELO SCOLA, CARDINAL ODILO SCHERER:,CARDINAL MARC OUELLET, CARDINAL PETER ERDO, and CARDINAL GIANFRANCO RAVASI. Some still believe New York’s Cardinal Dolan is also in the running. At this stage only God knows and we mean that literally. Nonetheless the stage is set.
The conclave begins on Tuesday in Rome when Mass Pro Eligendo Pontifice (for the Election of the Roman Pontiff) will be concelebrated by all the Cardinals midmorning in St Peter’s Basilica. Later in the afternoon the Cardinals will process from the Pauline Chapel into the Sistina while chanting the Litany of the Saints. Then following an Oath the first vote will be cast.
Meanwhile outside of the conclave, the Holy See has a logistical nightmare on their hands. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are expected to descend on the Vatican in the upcoming days but nobody knows exactly when, or for whom they will be coming.
