Cardinals’ deliberations end as conclave and discernment begins

Elise Ann Allen/ Crux• May 7, 2025

After holding their last pre-conclave meeting on Tuesday morning, the cardinals who will elect the next pope had less than a day to weigh their final considerations before effectively going into lockdown and casting their first vote in the conclave.

In the past few days, cardinals have met three times to discuss various challenges in the world and in the Church, and to underline the qualities they believe the new pope ought to have in responding to these challenges.

The final pre-conclave general congregation took place on Tuesday, 6 May, with the rest of the day free, allowing cardinals to move from their current residences to the Vatican’s Saint Martha Guesthouse, essentially a hotel for traveling prelates and other officials where Pope Francis lived, and where they will soon be under lockdown until a new pope is elected.

On Wednesday, 7 May, cardinals who have not yet moved into the Santa Marta, or the adjoining “old Santa Marta” residence, where some cardinals will also stay due to a lack of available space in the Santa Marta, will do so, before celebrating Mass together at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica.

After Mass, they will have time for lunch and rest before arriving to the Pauline chapel in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, where they will participate in a prayer before processing into the Sistine Chapel.

Once inside the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals will swear an oath of secrecy about the election process and deliberations surrounding the election of the new pope, and the extra omnes command will be given asking everyone who is not a cardinal elector to leave.

Chilean Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomali Garib departs the Vatican after a College of Cardinals’ meeting, 5 May 2025. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.)

After everyone not voting for the new pope has left, a reflection will be given by the former papal preacher, Italian Capuchin Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, before the doors are ceremonially shut and the conclave formally begins.

Only one round of voting will take place on Wednesday night, with four ballots on each subsequent day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, until a new pope is selected. If the cardinals have not elected a new pope after 12-13 ballots, they will take a break for a day of prayer and reflection before continuing.

The past two conclaves, in 2005 and 2013, were short, with a pope elected on the fourth and fifth ballots, resulting in a new pope within two and a half days.

Though most cardinals have insisted that they believe this year’s conclave will also be short, many observers have speculated that it could also last longer, given that there are more cardinals, and many do not know each other.

In this regard, the pre-conclave general congregation meetings have been essential, allowing the cardinals a chance to get to know one another and jointly discuss their vision for the Church, and the profile of the new pope.

On Tuesday, the cardinals signaled that they are united in their desire to make peace a priority, issuing a statement lamenting that “no progress has been made in promoting the peace processes in Ukraine, in the Middle East and in many other parts of the world, and that attacks have intensified, especially against the civilian population”.

They issued an appeal for all parties involved “to reach a permanent ceasefire as soon as possible and to negotiate, without preconditions and further delays, the peace long desired by the populations involved and by the entire world”.

“We invite all faithful to intensify their supplication to the Lord for a just and lasting peace,” they said.

On Monday, 5 May, cardinals discussed the role of Vatican City State and the nature of the “missionary Church” referred to so often by Pope Francis, stressing, according to a Vatican statement, that the Church “must not withdraw into herself, but rather accompany every man and women towards the living experience of the mystery of God”.

Mention was also made of the impact of the Church’s charitable efforts and the presence of so many international media as a sign of the enduring relevance of the Church and the Gospel message.

While many of the early general congregation speeches were apparently critical of Pope Francis and his reforms, speeches in recent meetings have supported his efforts to promote synodality and collegiality within the Church, and to be close to the people.

Some on Monday highlighted their desire for a pope who was “present, close, capable of being a bridge and a guide”, and of encouraging communion and unity in a divided world, and who is in touch with the real lives of the people.

Challenges such as passing on the Faith, family formation, care of the environment, war – including testimonies of cardinals living in warzones – and polarisation were highlighted, as were divisions within the Church itself.

Ethnic disputes were also discussed, as was migration and the “urgent” need to accompany and support migrants in their faith as they navigate different environments and life changes.

Synodality was highlighted by some as “a concrete expression of an ecclesiology of communion, in which everyone is called to participate, listen and discern together”.

The cardinals, the Vatican said, “reaffirmed their commitment and responsibility to support the new pope, called to be a true pastor, a guide who knows how to go beyond the confines of the Catholic Church alone, promoting dialogue and building relationships with other religious and cultural worlds”.

Reference was also made regarding concerns about the increased spread of sects in various parts of the world.

On Tuesday, the final day of discussion, cardinals discussed Pope Francis’s reforms in areas of the fight against clerical abuse, financial transparency and the reorganization of the Roman Curia, as well as synodality, the commitment to peace and to caring for the environment.

A core theme of Tuesday’s discussion was “that of communion, indicated as an essential vocation for the new pontiff”.

Cardinals outlined the profile of the next pope as needing to be a “teacher of humanity, capable of embodying the face of a Samaritan Church, close to the needs and wounds of humanity”.

They expressed their desire for a spiritual guide who could offer “mercy, synodality and hope” in a world marked by war, violence and polarisation.

Some of the speeches also dealt with canonical questions, including reflections on “the power of the Pope,” the Vatican said.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the high number of cardinal-electors who will vote in this conclave (133) and the fact that many were unknown to one another prior to the general congregations, with that likely still being the case for many, the need for more frequent meetings among cardinals was also highlighted, especially during consistories for the creation of new cardinals.

The cardinals spoke about the need to make the meetings of the College of Cardinals more significant on the occasion of Consistories, and to promote Christian initiation and ongoing formation as authentic missionary acts.

Notably, mention was also made of the date for celebrating Easter and the Council of Nicaea, the 1700th anniversary of which Pope Francis had intended to celebrate by visiting Turkey late this month, as well as ecumenical dialogue.

Once the doors to the Sistine Chapel close, cardinals will effectively be entirely shutoff from the rest of the world, with phone jamming systems and Wi-Fi blockers in place.

They will also have no newspapers or television news available while they remain closed in together in the Santa Marta residence, to allow for complete privacy and to prevent the interference of any external factors that might sway the voting process.

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Photo: A seagull sits on the chimney of the Sistine chapel prior to the start of the conclave, Vatican, 7 May 2025. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.)