Cardinal Vincent Nichols after officiating the solemn requiem at The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Valuable Blood, informally referred to as Westminster Cathedral on April 21, 2025 in London, England.
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ROME — Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Catholic Church’s high official for England and Wales because the Archbishop of Westminster, is getting ready to enter his first papal conclave. He says the duty of selecting a brand new pope is “intimidating,” and expects a reflective temper because the cardinals collect contained in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.
“When these doorways shut, all the hypothesis and means of speaking about this as oppositional, you already know, conservative towards liberal and all of that stuff — that can end, and there will be way more a temper of reflection,” Nichols advised NPR.
Nichols, 79, was appointed cardinal by Pope Francis in February, 2014. He is a part of essentially the most various Faculty of Cardinals in his church’s historical past. Like Nichols, a majority of the voting cardinals (these beneath age 80) have been appointed by Francis.
“I met this morning a cardinal from Rwanda… What he is acquired to inform us! A few nation like Rwanda and what it is lived via and what the church is dealing with now. There will be a cardinal from Myanmar, from Burma… He is residing beneath a army dictatorship. So we have to hear,” Nichols mentioned. “In every of those locations, the tales, the accounts, they make up the mosaic of the Church world wide.”
Cardinal Vincent Nichols receives his Biretta from Pope Francis at Saint Peter’s Basilica on February 22, 2014 in Vatican Metropolis, Vatican.
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He says that the times in Rome main as much as the conclave are a chance for cardinals to hear to one another’s tales.
Nichols additionally acknowledged the significance of listening to survivors of sexual abuse within the church. He shared that he is been assembly with victims for the previous 20 years and known as for the church to usher in outsiders to assist them.
“I am unable to take the ache away. I can attempt to perceive it,” Nichols mentioned. “Paradoxically, the church is the final place the place they will get speedy assist as a result of we’re the perpetrator.”
Whereas Nichols would not assume he’ll come out of the conclave as the following chief of the Catholic Church, he says that the one who does will likely be making the final word sacrifice.
“I believe being chosen pope is a mini sort of demise,” Nichols advised NPR. “Whoever is chosen pope won’t ever go house once more. They’re going to lose each final vestige of privateness. His entire life will then be taken over — for good goal… Nevertheless it’s a sort of complete give up.”
Throughout a conclave, cardinals are absolutely sequestered within the Casa Santa Marta, joined solely by the nuns who run the home the place Pope Francis lived. They’re reduce off from the surface, together with tv, radio, and cellphones. Nichols says he can get by with out his podcasts, however lacking out on soccer scores may be a bit tougher.
“I am not fairly certain what occurs to my cell phone… They may take them off us, I do not know. Or they may block the indicators. I don’t know. We’ll discover out. Nevertheless it’s my alarm clock. I am nervous I may be sleeping via [things]… and in addition your cellphone has acquired prayer on it that we use so it’s going to be attention-grabbing.”
Nichols was advised that the typical size of a conclave is 2 or three days, however it will probably final so long as it takes till two-thirds of the cardinals taking part agree on the brand new pope. He says he packed just a few further pairs of socks, simply in case.
