Today is May 7, Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter.
We read at today’s Mass, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day” (Jn 6:40).
Today, friends, is a truly momentous day in the life of the Church. It is the day the cardinals enter into conclave to elect the next successor of St. Peter.
This morning begins with the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff, celebrated at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica. This is no ordinary altar — just behind it stands the grand monument enclosing the Chair of St. Peter, a treasured relic of the apostle’s teaching authority. Beneath it lies what we believe to be the tomb of St. Peter himself. From there, the cardinals will process — through the back corridors of the Vatican, past the treasures of the museums — into the Sistine Chapel.
There, before Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment,” the cardinals cast their ballots. One by one, each cardinal approaches the altar, holding his vote and declares solemnly before God that he is choosing the man he believes is best suited to be pope. And he does so under the gaze of Christ the Judge.
An active promise
It’s astonishing when you think about it: each man places his trust, his conscience and his responsibility to the universal Church in that moment. It’s a decision with eternal consequences, made in a space that reflects the Last Day — the very promise Jesus speaks of in today’s Gospel.
“This is the will of my Father … and I shall raise him on the last day.”
The Church is not a political machine. It is a spiritual communion that moves forward because of the Holy Spirit, because of Jesus’ promise that he will remain with us. And that promise is alive and active in this conclave.
So today, we pray earnestly for our cardinals, for their wisdom and courage and for our future pope — that he may be filled with the Holy Spirit, ready to lead the Church with boldness and truth.
Let us pray.
Be present to your family, O Lord, we pray, and graciously ensure those you have endowed with the grace of faith an eternal share in the Resurrection of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
