UK Cardinal tells of ‘weight’ felt ahead of conclave to choose new pope
Cardinal Vincent Nichols said Pope Francis had ‘died with his boots on’ and made a ‘total sacrifice’ in his life to the Church.
One of the UK’s highest-ranking Catholic leaders has described as “deeply emotional” the days since the death of Pope Francis, as he noted the weight now placed on himself and other cardinals in choosing a successor.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and leader of Catholics in England and Wales, reflected on paying his respects to the late pontiff and how “moving” it had been to watch as others solemnly filed past the coffin.
In an interview with the PA news agency in Rome, Cardinal Nichols also spoke of the role he will have in electing a new head of the Catholic Church, as he takes part in his first conclave.
Tens of thousands of mourners have been queuing in St Peter’s Square since Wednesday, in a line snaking its way towards the Holy Door of the basilica, to see the late Pope.
Cardinal Nichols was among those involved in the procession of Francis’s remains from his residence to St Peter’s Basilica and described it as “the most moving thing I have ever attended in Rome”.
Speaking in the Italian capital on Thursday, he said: “While it was exactly the pattern of any person’s funeral – you know, with the priest leading the coffin and the family following – this was just on such an epic scale, and done with a grandeur and yet a simplicity.
“And it was very moving just to be part of that procession, but also then to come through the square with lots of crowds there.
“And even though there were ripples of applause, they were just acts of appreciation. The whole thing had a depth of sadness, and, you know, solemnity to it, which was deeply impressive, deeply moving, actually.”
He said Francis had “died with his boots on, doing his stuff right to the end”, having made a “total sacrifice” in his life to the Church.
Cardinal Nichols said: “Somebody will come out of this conclave and never, ever go home again, and that too will be a moment of a mini death, almost, where they just put themselves into the hands of the Church to be offered to God.”
By Thursday 7pm, more than 90,000 people had stood in line for hours in St Peter’s Square to make their way into the basilica to catch a glimpse of Francis’s body, which is laid out in an open coffin.
Thousands more are expected to flock to pay their respects throughout Thursday and until 7pm local time on Friday.
The 88-year-old, who died on Easter Monday, has been dubbed by some as the “people’s pope”, having spoken out for the poor and those in need in his lifetime and shunned many of the extravagances that come with papal life.
While it had been expected that the basilica would close at midnight, it remained open for most of the night, save for an hour for cleaning, to allow more people to pay their respects.
Cardinal Nichols has previously effectively ruled himself out of the running to be the next pontiff, describing himself as “too old, not capable”.
Asked about this, he told PA: “I don’t expect for half a second to be the one who is asked to pick up this cross.”
He added: “But I’ll try my utmost to play a good part in the process.”
Asked about having described the prospect of conclave as intimidating, he said: “It’s the weight, the consequence of the choice we make, which is, even on the world stage, is significant.”
Conclave could begin on May 5, following a nine-day mourning period which starts with Saturday’s open-air funeral in St Peter’s Square.
Cardinal Nichols is one of five cardinals across the UK and Ireland, although only three – himself, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe and Rome-based Cardinal Arthur Roche – are younger than 80 and therefore of voting age.
The archbishop said while cardinals are “well aware” of the speculation and attention there will be on conclave, their focus will be on each other when the secretive meeting begins, and what Francis’s successor has to offer.
He said: “Nothing makes a story better than having an oppositional dynamic to it. But I think once the doors are shut on the conclave, those things won’t be the storyline.
“The storyline will be ‘how can we, as this group, listen to each other, be attentive to whatever it is that God might be just prompting.
“And those prompts can come in a phrase, they can come in a conversation, they can come in a sense of a shift of mood, and that’s what we’ve got to be attentive to and hopefully respond.”
On his thoughts about a future pontiff, Cardinal Nichols said: “I think the next pope is going to have to carry on that work (by Francis) of speaking to the hearts of people about hope, about the mercy of God, about the highest calling of what it means to be a human being.”
