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Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco of France, the archbishop of Algiers, <\/strong>also could not recall what the American had said, but he got to talk to him on the sidelines of the meetings \u2014 which was important, he said, because he was increasingly being talked about as a candidate based on his \u201cincredible\u201d r\u00e9sum\u00e9, fluent Italian, reputation as a moderate and connection to Francis. The cardinal started asking around to people who had worked with the American to vet him, and learned that he listened and worked well in groups. \u201cI did my job,\u201d Cardinal Vesco said. \u201cI have to vote. I have to know the person.\u201d<\/p>\nCardinal Wilton Gregory of the United States also said that Cardinal Prevost had engaged \u201cquite effectively\u201d in the smaller group discussions with cardinals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Those more intimate settings played to Cardinal Prevost\u2019s strengths, as he had gained a reputation around Rome as a studiously prepared, collegial and organized collaborator, especially as a top Vatican department head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just admire the way he runs a meeting,\u201d Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, his hometown, said. \u201cI mean, that\u2019s hard to do, when you\u2019ve got people of different language groups and cultures, and you\u2019re trying to advise a pope on who should be a bishop, and you\u2019re listening to all those people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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On Saturday, May 3, five days before the conclave, the cardinals drew lots and assigned key roles. With 127 of the 133 who ultimately voted in attendance, Cardinal Prevost was chosen to assist in running the daily meetings before they were sequestered and voting began.<\/p>\n
As the different factions argued in those daily meetings about the future direction of the church, the cardinals from the Americas seemed to coalesce around him.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, an outspoken and gregarious figure, said he tried to get to know his fellow American better at a breakfast.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig M\u00fcller of Germany noted an electoral base that seemed to be forming, saying, \u201cit\u2019s a good number of cardinals from South America, North America.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cardinal Porras of Venezuela said that cardinals from Latin America and the United States seemed on the same page about Cardinal Prevost. \u201cWhen you have friendship first,\u201d he said, \u201ceverything is easier.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The more the cardinals learned about Cardinal Prevost, the more they liked, cardinals said. \u201cBob, this could be proposed to you,\u201d Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, N.J., said he told Cardinal Prevost soon before the conclave began.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Prevost had a lot of the experience they were looking for, said Cardinal Vincent Nichols of England. He had the heart of a missionary, scholarly depth and knowledge of the world. He had run a diocese as a bishop, which put him in close contact with parishioners, but had also worked in the Curia, the Roman bureaucracy that helps govern the church.<\/p>\n
It did not escape the cardinals, Cardinal Nichols said, that Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican\u2019s top diplomat, who was being pushed by his supporters in and out of the conclave, had deep experience only in the church bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not stupid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Quickly Shifting Fortunes<\/h2>\n
On Wednesday, after a long and solemn procession into the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals gathered at their assigned seats and took their vows. Just before 6 p.m. the doors closed for the beginning of the conclave.<\/p>\n
The meditation at the start, remarks on the gravity of the task at hand, ran about an hour, so long that Cardinal Parolin, who was running the conclave, asked them if they wanted to call it a night and delay the first vote until the next morning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe didn\u2019t have dinner, and there were no breaks \u2014 toilet breaks \u2014 either,\u201d said Cardinal David of the Philippines, but the group decided that it wanted a vote.<\/p>\n
As voting got underway around 7:30 p.m., the delay, with no explanation to the outside world, caused a stir among the waiting crowds. It seemed perhaps that the cardinals had already picked a pope who was getting dressed to come out onto the balcony.<\/p>\n
Instead, the first vote that night amounted to what Cardinal Omella of Spain called \u201ca bit of a preliminary poll.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the first vote, there were several candidates who won significant votes,\u201d Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik of South Korea said, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. Vatican insiders said that those candidates included Cardinals Parolin, Erdo and Prevost.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when the cardinals returned to the guesthouse and started discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the men.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cOnce we\u2019re in Santa Marta, there was talk about individual candidates,\u201d Cardinal Nichols of England said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cardinal M\u00fcller of Germany, a prominent conservative critic of Francis whom the late pope had fired from his position as the church\u2019s top doctrinal official, said he talked to the Latin Americans about Cardinal Prevost and was told that he was \u201cnot divisive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The climate for Cardinal Prevost seemed to be growing increasingly positive. The election was coming to him.<\/p>\n
The next morning\u2019s votes \u2014 the second and third of the conclave \u2014 made the picture clear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cIn the fourth vote, the ballots overwhelmingly shifted\u201d to Cardinal Prevost, Cardinal You of South Korea said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Cardinal M\u00fcller sat behind the American front-runner in the Sistine Chapel and noticed that he seemed calm. Cardinal Tagle, who sat next to Cardinal Prevost, noticed him taking deep breaths as votes amassed in his favor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked him, \u2018Do you want a candy?\u2019 and he said \u2018Yes,\u2019\u201d Cardinal Tagle said.<\/p>\n
During one of the votes, Cardinal Tobin, as he held his ballot high and put it in the urn, turned and saw Cardinal Prevost, whom he had known for about 30 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took a look at Bob,\u201d Cardinal Tobin of New Jersey said, \u201cand he had his head in his hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later in the afternoon, they voted again, then counted the ballots one by one. When Cardinal Prevost reached 89 votes, the two-thirds majority threshold needed to become pope, the room erupted in a standing ovation. \u201cAnd he remained seated!\u201d Cardinal David said. \u201cSomebody had to pull him up. We were all teary-eyed.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the counting continued and the votes for Cardinal Prevost neared triple digits, Cardinal Parolin had to ask them to sit down so they could finish.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe obtained a very, very large majority of votes,\u201d Cardinal D\u00e9sir\u00e9 Tsarahazana of Madagascar said.<\/p>\n
After his election, cardinals enthusiastically congratulated the new pope. A short and uncontentious conclave was over and Leo XIV stepped through the crimson curtains onto the balcony of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica and the world stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n