A British cardinal involved in the secretive papal conclave has revealed how Pope XIV reacted upon being elected.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, 79, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, was one of 133 cardinals involved in the conclave and said ‘every single step was meticulously followed’.
And now that he is no longer sequestered from the outside world, Cardinal Nichols told MailOnline how former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost reacted when asked if he accepted his position as leader of the Catholic Church.
He said: ‘He took it very matter of factly, there was no real emotion. He took it all in his stride.
‘There was a real sense of elation when he accepted the position of Pope. I was standing just a few feet away as he spoke and he was so very calm.’
Cardinal Nichols also suggested that Pope Leo ‘won’t be afraid of tyrants’ after being elected.
In an intriguing comment about a former Pope Leo, he said: ’In 452 AD Leo turned back Attila the Hun on the edge of the city of Rome, so he won’t be afraid of tyrants.’
When asked whether he was referring to President Donald Trump, Cardinal Nichols replied: ‘You might hear that, I didn’t say it.’
Cardinal Vincent Nichols (above) has revealed how Pope XIV reacted upon being elected – and why the new pontiff ‘won’t be afraid of tyrants’
Cardinal Nichols said Pope Leo XIV (above) ‘took it very matter of factly’ and ‘all in his stride’
Cardinal Nichols also detailed why the black smoke, which signalled no Pope had been elected after the first vote on Wednesday, was delayed by more than two hours (Pictured: the ‘Room of Tears’ in the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave vote took place)
The Liverpool-born Cardinal also detailed why the black smoke, which signalled no Pope had been elected after the first vote on Wednesday, was delayed by more than two hours.
And he lay the blame with papal priest Raniero Cantalamessa, 91, who had over run his sermon by almost an hour, leaving the crowd of 45,000 people outside the Vatican on tenterhooks.
He said: ’I think it’s well known that Fr Cantalamessa gave a very long talk…it must have been an hour or more. One person said it was his valedictory address, and it was splendid stuff.
‘It was suggested that it would be half an hour at the most, but it went on a lot longer. Patience is a good virtue, and it can’t be easily demonstrated unless you are doing it.’
Revealing the details of how the Conclave worked Cardinal Nichols said: ’There was a remarkable sense of fraternity, with people from all over the world.
‘There was no distraction from mobile phones and there was a great spirit among the group of us.
‘It was a time of great patience because we followed every single step meticulously and that took time, taking the other took a long time and the process of voting also took a long time.’
For Cardinal Nichols, who is the Archbishop of Westminster, it was also his first Conclave, and he just made the 80 years old cut off limit.
For Cardinal Nichols, who is the Archbishop of Westminster, it was also his first Conclave and he just made the 80 years old cut off limit
Revealing the details of how the Conclave worked Cardinal Nichols said: ’There was a remarkable sense of fraternity, with people from all over the world’
He added: ‘It was a very rapid decision, just four votes, and I think that’s because Pope Francis left a College of Cardinals that shared his vision and spirit to be a missionary church.
‘I would say Pope Leo is a citizen of the world, and once we reflected, it was pretty clear that here was a man who as bringing the right depth to the church and experience.
‘There was actually quite a bit of me that didn’t want to leave because it was such a spiritual experience in there and I will treasure it deeply.
‘He is very calm, clear in his mind decisive and I’ve seen him resolve difficulties that didn’t leave enemies behind, and he can pull people together.’
Then giving his first reaction to his beloved Liverpool winning the Premier League, Cardinal Nichols told MailOnline: ‘That was just as ecstatic.’
In the wake of Pope Leo’s election, the new pontiff’s brother has revealed that he watched the Ralph Fiennes blockbuster Conclave in preparation to enter the Sistine Chapel.
The Oscar-winning film, based on the novel by Robert Harris, focuses on the skullduggery that takes place before a conclave to elect a new pontiff.
Speaking to US broadcaster NBC, Pope Leo’s brother John revealed how his sibling prepared for the moment, having spoken to him ‘right before’ the voting began.
In the wake of Pope Leo’s election, the new pontiff’s brother has revealed that he watched the Ralph Fiennes blockbuster Conclave in preparation to enter the Sistine Chapel
The Oscar-winning film, based on the novel by Robert Harris, focuses on the skullduggery that takes place before a conclave to elect a new pontiff
Speaking to US broadcaster NBC, his brother John (above) revealed how his sibling prepared for the moment, having spoken to him ‘right before’ the voting began
Mr Prevost recalled: ‘I said, “Did you watch Conclave?” And he had just finished watching the movie, so he knew how to behave.’
Laughing, Mr Prevost also said they played Wordle together before the vote began. ‘First we do Wordle, because this a regular thing.
Then we do Words With Friends [a virtual game like Scrabble]. It’s something to keep his mind off life in the real world.’
Later, speaking on LBC, Mr Harris said: ‘There was a report several cardinals watched the movie because they didn’t know how [the conclave] was going to operate.’
He added that his brother might have taken ‘a few clues from Ralph Fiennes’s performance’.
The new Pope’s inaugural mass is set for May 18.
