Now Boarding at Gate 4: A Cardinal en Route to a Conclave

New York Times

23-04-2025

The police lined the departures curb, eyes peeled for the cardinal arriving any moment at Terminal 1 at Kennedy International Airport.
It was 6:32 p.m. on Tuesday, about 39 hours after the death of Pope Francis had been announced. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York was booked on AZ611, the 9:10 p.m. ITA Airways nonstop flight to Fiumicino Airport in Rome, departing Gate 4.
'How's my buddy!' he said, smiling as he stepped out of a Toyota Sienna's passenger seat, greeting the closest police officer. Aides juggled the bags, unloading them from the trunk.
Of the 10 American cardinals who are part of the body that will elect the next pope, Cardinal Dolan was among the first to make his way to Rome. In Washington, Cardinals Robert W. McElroy and Wilton Gregory would be leaving soon, as would Cardinal Blase Cupich in Chicago.
Passengers glanced at the hubbub surrounding the man in the black suit, Roman collar and a large metal cross as he was ushered to a special check-in counter inside. For his regular trips to Rome, Cardinal Dolan doesn't check any bags. But this time, he expected to be there for several weeks — through the funeral, conclave and installation of the next pope.
He fiddled with a Vatican tag on the handle of a suitcase. 'I didn't realize this!' he said. 'This is from the conclave in 2013! I never removed it.'
That was his first conclave, when cardinals surprised the world and elected then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as pope — the first Latin American, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere. That's the thing about conclaves: Dozens of men arrive as cardinals. One leaves as pope.
'I hope I get a new one,' Cardinal Dolan said about the tag, as he took individual photos with gate agents.
He looked around for his phone. At that moment, his driver rushed into the terminal, holding it out. 'He knows me,' Cardinal Dolan said. 'Did you bring the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?'
Coincidentally, Cardinal Dolan's flight was booked three months ago. He was leading a pilgrimage for 200 participants, all going to Rome for the Jubilee, with events planned to start on Wednesday.
He wondered aloud what was still on the schedule. The private tour of the Sistine Chapel? All but surely canceled, as the room was being set up for the conclave. The visit to Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four main basilicas? Tricky. That's where Pope Francis chose to be buried.
'I hope at least we go through the door,' he said.
Escorts had his entourage cut to the front of the Transportation Security Administration's security line. Just before the screening, he passed a baby in a stroller, and reached down to pat it on the cheek and offer a blessing. The baby burst into tears.
Off came the metal cross, joining his little protein packets in the T.S.A. bin. Once past the checkpoint, he carefully put it back around his neck.
He was quickly ushered to the Lufthansa lounge, where he sized up the buffet tables. 'I don't like to drink a lot of beer before flying,' he said. 'I don't like to eat on the plane.'
If all stayed on time, he would arrive in Rome in time for a shower and then the afternoon's General Congregation assembly, where the cardinals were preparing to choose the conclave's start date.
This was not how he planned to spend the week after Easter.
'Easter Monday … you look forward to Easter Monday because it's sort of a day off,' he said, taking a seat in front of a window overlooking his gate. But the call from an aide that the Pope had died came at 3:45 a.m., he said.
In recent months, he'd received a few personal notes from Pope Francis, replying to the letters he'd sent about the pontiff's health. But the last time he personally spoke with Pope Francis was at a church synod in October 2023.
'I was very moved — he asked how the Jewish community in New York was after the attacks of Oct. 7,' he said. 'We only chatted about 10 minutes or so. He asked me to convey his love and solidarity with them.'
Vice President JD Vance's Easter visit with Pope Francis was a surprise, he said. 'I'm wondering myself how it came about, because presently there is no ambassador to the Holy See,' he said. Brian Burch, President Trump's nominee, is waiting for the Senate to vote on his confirmation.
Announcements for departing flights blared through the lounge.
'I am very eager to be close to my brother cardinals,' he said. 'Because even though I would know of them all, I would only know maybe a third of them.'
The Vatican's ritual proceedings — 'the antipasto before the conclave,' he called them — are helpful. In the general congregation meetings, cardinals can each speak for eight to 10 minutes, sharing what is on their hearts and minds.
He said he had not yet thought much about what he might want to say when it was his turn. His first priority, he said, was getting to know his fellow cardinals.
A woman hovered nearby. 'How are you?' he said, as she leaned closer to ask for a blessing. 'Where are you going?'
When she said she was headed to Portugal, he asked if she was going to Fatima, the pilgrimage site remembering Marian apparitions. She wished she were.
'I wish you were, too — you could remember me,' he said. 'Pray for me.'
Years after the conclave that elected Francis, reports emerged that Cardinal Dolan had received two votes. Asked about his prospects this time, he looked speechless for the first time that afternoon.
'Oh, I'm not betting the lunch money on it, so I hope nobody else does,' he said. 'I got a better chance at batting cleanup for the Yankees than I do being pope.'
It was time to board. Asked if he'd seen the movie 'Conclave,' he laughed. 'I was in it!' he joked. He hadn't seen it yet. Maybe he'd watch it on the flight.
'Unless there is a 'John Wick,'' he said.