College of Cardinals meet Wednesday, could elect a new pope within hours, days
While some Vatican watchers suggest we could see a longer than usual conclave, others have signaled they think it will be short, like it has been during the last handful of times.
'Maximum three days,' predicted Salvadoran Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez. However, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne, Germany, said he expects the conclave 'won't go as quickly as the last conclave.'
The the diversity of this year's conclave has also commanded attention, as well as the fact that many cardinals are unfamiliar with each other, which could lead to a lengthier vote than during recent conclaves of the past.
The vast majority of the 133 cardinal-electors will be participating in a conclave for the first time, according to Reuters, which noted around 80% of the participants were appointed by Pope Francis. Meanwhile, per the Religion News Service, this conclave's College of Cardinals is the most geographically diverse in centuries.
'I wouldn't panic if we don't have a pope by the end of day two, but if there still isn't any white smoke by the end of the third day, then we start to get worried,' said Rev. Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and Vatican commentator.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pope Leo to visit Lebanon, cardinal says, in likely first trip abroad
By Joshua McElwee VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo plans to visit Lebanon, the country's senior Catholic official announced on Wednesday, in what could be the first visit outside Italy by the new leader of the global Church. The pope will travel to Lebanon "by December", Cardinal Bechara Rai told the al-Arabiya television channel. Rai, leader of the 3.5-million-member Maronite Catholic Church, did not give a specific date for the visit but said "preparations are already underway". A Lebanese official familiar with the matter confirmed that discussions were being held about a visit towards the end of the year, though a date had not yet been finalised. Leo, the first U.S. pope, was elected by the world's Catholic cardinals on May 8 to replace the late Pope Francis, who had planned to visit Lebanon but was unable to go because of health issues. Lebanon is home to more than two million Catholics, according to Vatican statistics. A Vatican spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Rai's remarks. A Vatican official, who asked not to be named, confirmed that a trip was being planned and said it could be part of a tour that would also include Turkey. Travelling abroad has become a major part of the modern papacy, with popes seeking to meet local Catholics, spread the faith, and conduct international diplomacy. They often draw crowds in the millions. Francis made 47 visits abroad during his 12-year papacy, travelling to 68 countries. He made a policy of visiting countries that often did not draw international attention as a way of highlighting problems in what he called the "peripheries" of the world. Leo has been expected to visit Turkey in late November as part of celebrations for the 1,700th anniversary of a major early Church council, which took place in Nicaea, now called Iznik. In a message to Lebanon earlier this month, Leo commemorated the fifth anniversary of a huge chemical explosion at the Beirut port that killed 200 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage. "Beloved and suffering Lebanon remains at the centre of our prayers," said the pope.
32 minutes ago
Pope calls for peace in Middle East and Ukraine as he returns to Vatican
VATICAN CITY -- VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV asked people to fast on Friday to pray for peace and justice in the Middle East and Ukraine, issuing a special appeal as he returned to the Vatican from summer vacation. At the end of his weekly general audience Wednesday, Leo recalled that Friday is a special feast day dedicated to the Virgin Mary. He urged Catholic faithful to spend the day fasting and 'praying that the Lord grants peace and justice, and dries the tears of all those who are suffering as a result of the armed conflicts underway.' Leo has called for ceasefires in Gaza and Ukraine and for dialogue to achieve peace. Wednesday marked Leo's first day back at the Vatican after a period of vacation at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome. Going forward, the pope has some important appointments including special audiences for the Vatican's 2025 Holy Year and the Sept. 7 canonization of the Catholic Church's first millennial saint Carlo Acutis. At the end of Wednesday's audience, Leo received a special gift: A Ping-Pong table decorated with his papal coat of arms. Leo, an avid tennis player, gamely picked up a paddle and bounced a ball on it, but the ball rolled into the net.
CNN
9 hours ago
- CNN
Abrego Garcia's lawyers urge judge to drop his criminal case, alleging ‘vindictive and selective prosecution'
Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia are asking the federal judge overseeing his criminal case to throw out the human smuggling charges he's facing, alleging the Justice Department singled him out for prosecution after he challenged his wrongful deportation to El Salvador earlier this year. The request made Tuesday to US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville comes several days before Abrego Garcia is expected to be released from criminal custody pending his trial on the federal charges. The 35-page filing to Crenshaw accuses President Donald Trump's Justice Department of prosecuting the criminal case as retribution for Abrego Garcia's protracted legal fight against the government's deportation of him in mid-March. The Maryland father of three was wrongly deported in violation of an earlier court order that expressly forbade his removal to El Salvador. 'Mr. Abrego responded to the government's shocking, illegal conduct by filing a lawsuit. Rather than fix its mistake and return Mr. Abrego to the United States, the government fought back at every level of the federal court system,' his attorneys wrote in the filing. 'And at every level, Mr. Abrego won. This case results from the government's concerted effort to punish him for having the audacity to fight back, rather than accept a brutal injustice.' The lawyers are asking Crenshaw, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, to throw out the two criminal counts brought against him earlier this year based on their assertion that he's the subject of 'selective or vindictive prosecution.' 'Those motions are infrequently made and rarely succeed. But if there has ever been a case for dismissal on those grounds, this is that case. The government is attempting to use this case – and this Court – to punish Mr. Abrego for successfully fighting his unlawful removal. That is a constitutional violation of the most basic sort,' they wrote in court papers. 'The Indictment must be dismissed.' The filing points to statements made by various administration officials – from Trump to Attorney General Pam Bondi – to make the case that his prosecution is intended to justify 'officials' false claims that deporting him to El Salvador had been the right thing to do.' And it points out that the traffic stop that is at the center of the government's case against him occurred years earlier – a fact his lawyers claim 'is sufficient to establish discriminatory effect.' 'In total, it took the government 903 days after the traffic stop in this case – on November 30, 2022 – to obtain an indictment on May 21, 2025,' they wrote, adding that they couldn't find any similar case within the federal circuit that hears appeals arising from Tennessee and several other states. Abrego Garcia's trial is set to begin in January 2026. Last month, Crenshaw declined to undo a separate judge's decision to let Abrego Garcia remain free while he awaits trial. But he's remained behind bars after the magistrate judge in his case paused her release order for a month. That pause is expected to end later this week. Meanwhile, the federal judge in Maryland overseeing the case Abrego Garica and his family brought against officials to secure his return to the US from El Salvador has barred the administration from quickly deporting him again once he's released from criminal custody. That ruling from US District Judge Paula Xinis, also an Obama appointee, is meant to do two things: Restore Abrego Garcia to the immigration position he was in before his deportation in mid-March and ensure his due process rights aren't violated again should officials try to remove him from the US a second time.
