On the last day before the 2025 Conclave, the 126th day of the calendar year, the sun rose in Rome at 5:58.
Sunset is at 20:17:
The Ave Maria Bells hasn’t budged… in more ways than one… at 20:30.
Today was a dies non so I celebrated a Mass “for the election of a Supreme Pontiff” and then worked on a piece here about the Mass texts. Powerful stuff.
Tonight in the parish Exposition, Rosary, Benediction and Solemn Mass for that intention.
I was out to supper with The Great Roman™ last night. We split portions of two pastas for the sake of variety. Tonnarelli with a ragu of venison and spaghetti with guanciale, pecorino and fave (like gricia with beans). Both were good, the venison ragu was great. The place we went to is under new management since about last February. Some continuity with the menu, but new people and new chef. Style has been upgraded. Alas, part of that is change of service items like bowls. Our pastas were served in Stupid Bowls, hard to eat out of. Of course these days, cooks have a mania for twisting pasta up with tweezers and stacking it like Babel. I am unimpressed. It had better taste better than you’ve tried to make it look. I get the visual part. But….
Stupid Bowl.
It was not an inexpensive supper, but we wanted to check it out under the new regime. It was close. Good quality food, nice staff, spiffed up tables, … alas, stupid bowls.
I checked out this little church on the Via Giulia, which still has the coat-of-arms of BENEDICT XV… yes… 15. (14 would have been even better) I don’t know how they held out.
I had a little time so I wandered over the Angel Bridge to the other side of the river… first time since being here.
Nice and clean.
Here, an angel is holding a large chess rook, …
The angel is sad that you don’t play chess and the he wants you to be happy by signing up for
Okay… it’s not really a big chess rook. It is the pillar of the flagellation. I tried.
PSSSST….
Strong candidates right now, the day before… Pizzaballa and Mamberti with a hedge toward Erdö. I think this will take more than one day.
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Does the duty of announcing the new pope fall to the next most senior cardinal-deacon if Mamberti were elected? I suppose it would be a dead giveaway as soon as someone other than he walked out onto the balcony.
Father Z,
Are Erdo, Pizzaballa, and Mamberti the names who seem strongest as the Conclave is about to begin, or are they your choices? I would be over the moon if Erdo were to become the pope.
Looks like a decent enough receptacle for a risotto … though I wouldn’t want even a minestrone in that thing !!
If someone OTHER than Mamberti comes out to make the announcement, then it is probably Mamberti. Unless, perhaps, he sprained his ankle or head or something on the stairs and couldn’t do it.
What Cardinal Deacon would be next in line? If would be by seniority in the College, Mario Card. Zenari (79.3 yrs old) whose title is S. M. Grazie alle Fornace fuori Porta Cavalleggeri.
As I think about this, and it has been awhile, the most junior of all the Cardinal Deacons, therefore at the bottom of the heap, is 51 year old George Jacob Cardinal Koovakad. He’s been Cardinal for about 3 months.
The other evening, musing about Mamberti, i was curious about when was the last time a cardinal deacon was elected pope. The most recent i could find definitely was the catastrophic Leo X in 1513. i could not find the cardinal rank of Clement X (1670). Perhaps the Leonine precedent argues against any future election of a cardinal deacon.
Thanks for the angel!
I was really enjoying the “columna” references at Easter this year.
+Mamberti – the man of the (preconclave) moment – bears more than a passing resemblance to another recent pope, no? (Hint: pre-St.JPII!)
The question is whether there are the 45 votes needed to block someone like Mamberti or Erdo. It seems very likely that there are. I know nothing about most of the Cardinals but among the handful I know something about a large number would likely be part of a firm anti-conservative block: e.g., Zuppi, Cupich, Czerny, Farrell, Tobin, Fernandez, Hollerich, Marx, McElroy, Radcliffe, Mendonca, Roche, David. If there are so many of these types among the few that I know about, it is hard to imagine that there are not many more among the unknowns. This is probably why some conservatives are saying Parolin is the best hope. Perhaps there is some chance for Pizzaballa, I don’t know. Under the circumstances he would be a home run, although no one seems to actually know where he stands on hot button issues.