"I am completely in your hands" Pope John Paul II , Last Will and Testament
With Pope John Paul II laid to rest, attention now turns to the qualities of the next pontiff
VATICAN CITY--Amid the mighty and the millions and with the full pomp of the Roman Catholic Church that John Paul II led for more than a quarter of a century, the funeral mass for the pontiff took place in front of St. Peter's Basilica under a lightly clouded sky. Applause erupted from the huge crowd--around 300,000 packed into the square and the broad boulevard running down to the Tiber River, and millions more in nearby Roman neighborhoods--as 12 pontifical chair bearers bore his simple wooden coffin, inscribed with the initial M for Mary, from the basilica and placed it on a large Persian carpet in front of the altar. Following behind were the cardinals, the princes of the church, who took their seats behind the altar, joining other church hierarchy as well as presidents (including George W. Bush, his father, and former President Bill Clinton), prime ministers, and leaders of other religions flanking the ceremonial space. As the choir chanted a Gregorian chant, "Grant him eternal rest, O Lord," a red, leatherbound book of the Gospels was placed on the coffin, the sometimes stiff breeze tossing its pages.
The chief celebrant of the mass, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals and considered to be one of the possible papal successors, recalled in his homily the spiritual challenges and turning points of Karol Wojtyla's life. "The holy father was a priest to the last," he said, "for he offered his life to God for his flock and for the entire human family in a daily self-oblation for the service of the church, especially amid the sufferings of his final months." Afterward, the coffin was taken to the grotto of the basilica and placed beneath the floor not far from where John XXIII lay until his remains were moved upstairs upon beatification. Many of the pilgrims who journeyed to Rome urged with chants and signs that John Paul II receive that recognition for his own saintly life.
The papal burial brought to an end one part of the elaborate transition ritual that now moves into its next phase, the election and installation of John Paul's successor. Unfolding amid a spontaneous populist celebration of the pope's life that has surprised Vatican and Roman officials by its size, the period of the papal interregnum has dramatized the accomplishments--but also some shortcomings--of John Paul II's 26-year reign, even while suggesting the major challenges that await the church. Those challenges will loom particularly large in the minds of the 117 cardinal-electors when they assemble in the Sistine Chapel on April 18 to select the 265th supreme pontiff. During the papacy of John Paul II, the church became truly global, and the cardinals are likely to consider how that new dynamic might influence their voting on the next pontiff. They will look to build on the pope's legacy while seeking to reflect the changing needs of the church.
A pope of the people. Attesting to the astonishing popularity of Karol Wojtyla the man, the crowds that overflowed St. Peter's Square in the hours before his death grew further in the days that followed. After a Sunday morning mass in the square attended by tens of thousands, one cluster of young Italians held hands as they circled six guitarists, performing a graceful dance while singing spiritual folk tunes. Hundreds more gathered around them, singing and clapping in accompaniment. Nearby, a group of Latin Americans--some Peruvian, some Argentine--sat in concentric circles as they recited prayers in Spanish. A small band of nuns and priests from Mozambique simply held hands and talked about the man whose evangelizing efforts had revitalized the church in Africa.
Proudly possessive almost to a person were the Poles who came together around a makeshift shrine, tears streaking many of their faces as they sang a Polish hymn in honor of the Virgin Mary. "This pope means everything to me," said David Klamka, a Krakow native born the year after Karol Wojtyla became the pope. His girlfriend, Agatha Mulczynsak, said the fact that she is an atheist made no difference: "He wasn't just the pope for Catholics. He was the pope for everyone, even atheists."
A presence even in death. On Sunday and part of Monday, select groups, lay and clerical, were allowed to view the pope as he lay in state in a large reception hall just beneath his apartments in the Apostolic Palace. Climbing the two long flights of marble stairs, often breaking out in hymns as they drew near the frescoed hall named after Pope Clement VIII, the visitors saw the pontiff, flanked by Swiss guards, laid upon a silk-draped bier, dressed in his formal vestments, including his bishop's miter, but also in the simple, soft leather shoes that he wore throughout his papacy. With no signs of having been touched up with cosmetics, his gray, stubble-covered face showed the ravages of his dying. (Vatican officials later confirmed that the pope had not been embalmed, unlike most recent popes, and had at most received minimal treatment to retard natural deterioration.)
The transfer of the body from the palace to St. Peter's Basilica Monday afternoon brought John Paul II's earthly remains to a broader public. Even before his body was carried to the head of the nave in the basilica, a line of pilgrims extended down the Via della Conciliazione and soon wound its way through a warren of back streets. According to estimates, some 400,000 pilgrims filed past the pope on Monday, 600,000 on Tuesday, and around 1 million on Wednesday.
If the obvious drawing power of John Paul II was clear testimony to his great personal charisma, however, did that necessarily mean that his teaching was widely accepted, even within the church? The strongest critics of his papacy have suggested that his magnetism was bound up with a cult of personality that was carefully promoted by the man and his chief aides. Granting that he did indeed possess a "special charisma," Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop of Westminster, last week countered those critics by noting that "it was clearly in service in the gospel." Murphy-O'Connor added that the very public way in which the pope died will make the world think seriously about what his faith signified. "He made it clear that the big questions are religious questions that can't be answered just by technology and science."
The extent of the Polish pontiff's humility and piety came out in his last testament. The contents revealed that he considered resigning in 2000, contemplated burial in Poland, and instructed his personal secretary to burn his private papers. He also credited divine providence for averting a nuclear conflict during the Cold War.
Shortcomings. But even if the real source of John Paul II's magnetism was grounded in his evangelical mission, observers within and outside the church are already wondering how best to shore up what he built during his papacy--and who will be best qualified to lead the church in doing so. Even John Paul II's strongest admirers admit that his greatest weakness was inattention to administrative details. The Rev. John Wauck, professor of church communications at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, explains that popes are thought to wear three hats: those, respectively, of prophet, pastor, and king. While John Paul II wore the first two quite brilliantly, the times might call for more of a king to address such issues as guiding the sometimes undisciplined clergy. Still, Wauck thinks that charisma should be the deciding factor. "I see a prophetic leader, working possibly in a more structured way."
But to others, shoring up gains means possibly loosening the grip of the pope's central administrative bureaucracy, the Curia. The Rev. Gerald O'Collins, a theologian at the Pontifical Gregorian University, notes that Vatican II called for greater collegiality and sharing of power between the universal church and its diocesan branches throughout the world.
This pope's evangelism unquestionably made the church more truly universal, but what is to be done to strengthen the church in places like Latin America, where close to half of all Catholics live but also where Protestant evangelicals and Mormons are making strong inroads? And what about Africa, where the church finds itself in head-to-head confrontation with Islam? To many, the answer is to choose a Latin American, African, or at least some other non-European, as the next pope. "It would be particularly good for Brazil to have a Brazilian pope," says Eduardo Castro, a journalist with Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicacão. "It would be a signal to the continent where there are the most Catholics that the church is paying attention to them." The choice of São Paulo's archbishop, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, would fill this bill nicely. São Paulo is home to some 6 million of Brazil's 140 million Catholics. And his doctrinal conservatism and political profile resonate with those of John Paul II. Although Hummes opposed the liberation theology embraced by many Latin American clerics, including his predecessor in São Paulo, he also resisted Brazil's dictatorship and supported the workers' movement.
Battling secularism. But others say that the old homeland of Christendom, Europe, is in more urgent need of a European prelate at the helm. The increasing secularism of the continent, expressed not least in the absence of any mention of the influence of Christianity in the European Constitution, is deeply troubling to the cardinal-electors, about half of whom are from Europe. While not afraid of a healthy separation of church and state, Cardinal Renato Martino admits that he is bothered by what he calls "the growth of Christianophobia" that excludes all expressions of religion in the public sphere. When asked whether concerns about this question favor the choice of a European pope, he only smiles. "After all," he says, "we are all possible, even me."
Some are considered more possible than others, of course, and currently two Italians are topping the lists: Angelo Sodano and Dionigi Tettamanzi. As Italian journalist Marco Politi observed in La Repubblica last week: "If people are talking about Italians on this electoral eve, it is because many 'foreigners' want a less dramatic pontificate than the Wojtylian one, ready to make some reforms on decentralization and greater participation of the bishops in the universal church, and therefore an Italian perhaps will be better." Known for their diplomacy and mastery of the Curia, Italians might be best equipped to balance the church's many (and sometimes conflicting) priorities.
But at this point, at least, the man, or woman, on the streets of Rome ought to be given a say in the matter. In line last Thursday with her husband and four children, Renee Smith, from New York's Hudson Valley, expressed the view of many of her fellow pilgrims. The next pontiff, she said, "should be a pope who is similar [to John Paul II], someone who will encourage more peace in the world among people regardless of race or religion, someone that is very active in running this church, which needs a lot of help." Such a person might well be the answer to the hopes and prayers of many people, Catholic and non-Catholic alike.
INSIDE THE CONCLAVE
The Secret Election of the Next Pope
The College of Cardinals has had the exclusive right to elect popes since 1179. To deliberate and decide, the cardinals are locked in a conclave --from the Latin phrase "with a key"--to prevent interference from the outside world. Balloting takes place in the Sistine Chapel 15 to 20 days after a pope has died and only cardinals under the age of 80 may vote--117 are eligible today. While the media and the world await the naming of the new pope, announced by white smoke and the peal of St. Peter's Basilica's bells, centuries-old rituals take place within the carefully guarded chapel.
PICKING THE PONTIFF
APRIL 18 Conclave begins Monday morning with a special mass in St. Peter's to entreat the Holy Spirit for guidance.
AFTERNOON Cardinals meet again in the Sistine Chapel, where they take an oath of secrecy and pledge to follow conclave rules.
"ALL OUT" ORDER is given to anyone not involved with the conclave. Voting may begin.
APRIL 19 Two votes taken in the morning and two in the afternoon, until a pope is elected by a two-thirds majority (in this election, 78 votes).
IF THEY CAN'T DECIDE
If a pope is not elected after three days, the cardinals take a day for prayer and discussion.
Cardinals can vote to elect a pope by simple majority (59 votes) if they become deadlocked for 12 days.
WHEN THEY AGREE
The dean of the College of Cardinals asks the newly elected pope, "Do you accept your canonical election as supreme pontiff?" If he accepts, he selects a papal name for himself.
The new pope changes into one of three white cassocks, tailored in advance to fit a pope of any size. In the Sistine Chapel each of the cardinal electors pledges his loyalty to the new pope.
The senior cardinal deacon appears on the central balcony of St. Peter's and announces in Latin, "Habemus papam," --We have a pope!
The new pope appears on the balcony and offers his blessing to Rome and the world.
THE BALLOTS
Disguising his handwriting, each cardinal writes his choice on a ballot printed in Latin with the words Eligo in summum pontificem -- I elect as supreme pontiff.
THE CHALICE
Each cardinal places his twice-folded ballot on a golden plate and tips it into a 25-inch gold chalice.
THE MONITORS
Three cardinals who act as the scrutineers count the ballots to make sure they match the number of electors.
A scrutineer reads the name on each ballot out loud so that all the cardinals can keep track of the election. Three cardinals working as revisers double-check the numbers.
SEQUESTERED CARDINALS
Cardinals take oaths of secrecy and break all contact with the outside world. This means no cellphones, televisions, or newspapers for the duration of the election. The Sistine Chapel and surrounding areas are swept for listening devices and bugs.
WHERE THEY'RE FROM
European cardinals make up nearly half of all the electors, whose average age is 72. All but three of the cardinal electors have been appointed by John Paul II.
North America 14
Latin America 21
Europe 58
Africa 11
Asia 11
Oceania 2
TIMES HAVE CHANGED
In 1268 it took nearly three years for the conclave to elect a pope. Frustrated townspeople locked the electors inside their meeting place and removed the roof to expose them to the elements to hasten the vote.
Conclaves since 1846 have lasted no longer than four days. Today's cardinal electors stay at St. Martha's House, a well-appointed, 130-room guesthouse built by John Paul II.
The declaration
When a cardinal delivers his ballot, he kneels in prayer, rises, and declares: "I call as my witness Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who before God I think should be elected."
Infirmarians
These cardinals handle the ballots of any cardinal too sick to attend the conclave meetings.
VOTE SIGNAL
Ballots are burned in a furnace near the Sistine Chapel to keep the process secret. If a pope is not elected, chemicals are added to make black smoke. Once he is chosen, white smoke is produced.
Until 1978, wet straw was burned with the ballots to create black smoke. Dry straw produced white.
This year, for the first time, St. Peter's bells will toll to help announce a successful election.
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Scrutineers
Revisers
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Vatican City
St. Martha's House
St. Peter's Basilica
Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel
The cardinals meet in this 15th century chapel famous for its Michelangelo frescoes.
Sources: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; "Papal Transitions," article in America, The National Catholic Weekly by the Rev. Thomas Reese; Conclave by John Allen Jr.; news reports; Graphic by Rob Cady-- USN&WR ; Written by Philippe Moulier, Stephen Rountree, Nicole Schofer-- USN&WR
With John Phillips
This story appears in the April 18, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.