The canonical election of Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger
would be remembered, for as long as memory
exists, on this day of April, ending the papal vacancy
since the fifth of that same month.
As soon as Sodano, the vice deacon of the College
of Cardinals, asked him to accept the position that God
had selected, at the end of the fourth ballot, he did not
hesitate to say ‘I accept.’ The five seconds he took to
reply ‘Pope Benedict’ to the question ‘What name do
you wish to be called?’ also indicated forethought. Don’t
forget that Ratzinger was the deacon of the college –
that is, had he not been the chosen one, he would have
asked the same questions to the elected candidate. It’s a
curious fact that 90 percent of his predecessors preferred
a name different from the one their mothers gave
them.
The faithful congregated in Saint Peter’s Square,
hoping that the smoke would be white, not the dark,
ashen color it was. Few of those present remembered
the first and second conclaves of 1978, in which the
same problem arose. Nine million euros to organize a
conclave, and they always forgot to clean the chimney
of the Sistine Chapel. So, after ten minutes of waiting,
with many leaving the square, the bells of the basilica
roared with frenzied alarm, spreading smiles instead of
fear, through the whole plaza and surroundings.
We have a pope.
Inside the holy chapel the Gamarelli brothers fi tted
the papal vestments to the body of the new pontiff .
There was no surprise this time. The expected candidate
had won. It was always easier when the previous
pope had expressed his will. John XXIII did so when
on his deathbed he named Cardinal Giovanni Montini
as his successor. In the case of the Polish Wojtyla, the
decision had been made earlier. One should never disobey
the last wishes of a dying man, especially someone
so close to the Creator. Leaving the decision in the
hands of the Holy Spirit subjected the church to surprises
like those of Pope Luciani and of Wojtyla himself.
Sodano could not have been happier. His beloved
church would remain secure. Ratzinger was a known
man in a known place. No one would do a better job.