Priest to faithful: ‘Pray for the conclave’

A LOCAL prelate urged the Catholic faithful on Sunday to pray that the Holy Spirit guide the College of Cardinals in Vatican as they gather for a papal conclave on Tuesday.

Msgr. Rey Manuel Monsanto, vicar general of the archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, also said the “cardinal-electors” should listen to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit when they choose the next Vicar of Christ.

“Normally, cardinals will vote according to the needs and problems of the church, so the cardinals will be guided also by those needs and problems,” he told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.

The eight General Congregation of the College of Cardinals decided to hold the Conclave on Tuesday, March 12.

A papal conclave will convene to choose the successor of the Holy See, after Pope Benedict XVI resigned on February 28 as the moral beacon of at least 1,196 billion Roman Catholics all over the world.

The papal conclave has been the ritual for choosing a new Bishop of Rome -- also known as the Pope or Vicar of Christ. It is the oldest ongoing method of choosing a leader of an institution, as it has been practiced for more than half of the time the church has been in existence.

“We cannot really go ahead of the Holy Spirit, all we do is pray that the cardinal-electors will listen to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,” Monsanto added.

Meanwhile, the Holy See Press Office announced in a statement that a “pro eligendo Romano Pontifice” Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica in the morning and the cardinals will then enter into conclave in the afternoon.

In the same message, Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, said all the expected Cardinal electors were now present and, therefore, the College can now prepare to decide the date of the conclave, including whether to move the date up from 15 days after the beginning of the period of the Sede Vacante.