The Conclave(Louise A. Schmidt) THE CONCLAVE

By Louise A. Schmidt 3/7/2013


Stunned, Cardinal A stared up at the Pope. He could not believe what he heard: the Pope was resigning? This could not be possible! But then, there had been rumors. Rumors of something unusual happening, ever since the scandal of secrets from the Vatican being given to the press...

Glancing around he noticed that everyone else had reacted the same as he: stunned, silent, shocked. The Pope was resigning the end of the month, not dying in office, totally changing the dynamics of the church. Now what were they to do? Choose a new pope while the old one is still alive? And the church was in turmoil! What would they do about all of the issues that currently face the church? It all felt overwhelming.

In that moment Cardinal A bowed his head for a silent moment of desperate prayer. 'Dear God Almighty, in our moment of need, please be with us and guide us. Tell us what do, oh God. Help us save Your Church. Guide us, I beg of You! Help us to avoid all the errors we have made in the past and guide us to make better decisions in the future. In Your Most Holy Name, and to Your honor and glory, amen.' And as if an echo, in chimes and bells in tones unearthly, and in voice tones he almost recognized, there echoed in his mind a resounding 'Amen!'.

Amazed, he froze. That voice! He had heard it at his first catechism and when he was ordained as a priest. What could it mean?

Before he could consider the matter further, the other Cardinals and clergy present, shocked by what they just heard, started asking questions and including him in their conversation. Cardinal A tried to focus on what they were saying to him. None of them mentioned a voice, the voice that had been so loud in his head. So neither did he.

...............

The conclave had started, the doors closed and locked. The beautiful ceiling of the Sistine Chapel set the mood.

Cardinal A stood, watching as the doors closed. The prayers of the priest still thundered through his head: "Dear God Our Father, guide our thoughts and our actions." Isn't that what he had thought and prayed right after the announcement? Something about it was different, though. He stood there and listened as the great doors were fastened closed. Now they were all sealed in until they selected the next pope. The discussions had already started. Several names were being mentioned more often than others. Who was God leading him to vote for? He did not know, but was sure God would make the final decision.

The discussions raged on for hours with rest periods, prayers and meals punctuating the conversations. Some favored Cardinal Q, a devout but gentle man. Others thought Cardinal T was the perfect pope for these troubled times, a strong, conservative man of deep conviction. Still others favored Cardinal M, a quiet but sincere man from another land.

It was now time for the first ballot, close to sunset on the first day. Cardinal A picked up his pen, looked down at the paper. "Eligo in Summum Pontificem ("I elect as Supreme Pontiff")". Closing his eyes he prayed deeply within himself, "Dear God, please guide my hand and the hands of those here to write the name of the next pope, that we may all know Your Will. In Thy Name, amen."

Cardinal M? Cardinal T? Cardinal Q? Cardinal A considered the possible papabili, then bent to write a name and folded the ballot quickly. Who had he voted for? He could not remember, only that he had prayed for guidance the whole time he wrote.

"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." Cardinal A listened to the phrase as each Cardinal took his ballot to the altar until his turn to take his vote to the altar and take the oath, then returned to stand at the back of the group. Once all 115 ballots had been collected, the first Scrutineer shook the container and the last Scrutineer removed the ballots and counted them. Exactly 115, matching the number of cardinals present and qualified to vote. There were no irregularities.

Opening the first ballot, the first Scrutineer froze, staring at the ballot, then gestured for the other two Scrutineers to come close enough to whisper urgently in their ears.

What could be going on? Cardinal A started to lean forward, but thinking that might not be polite nor politic, instead stepped back against the wall. Suddenly he realized that through some acoustical quirk, he could hear exactly what was being said.

"Giorgio, Francis, look at this! What,..what do I do with THIS?"
Giorgio looked where the first Scrutineer pointed at the ballot. Startled, he then looked closer, then relaxed. He bent and whispered in the first Scrutineer's ear. "Juan, it is just a protest vote by one of the reformist Cardinals. You can only just add it to the papabili list."
Francis pointed at the empty papabili list. "Just add it? I am glad I am not the last Scrutineer!"
Giorgio stared for a moment, then shrugged. "Just write it in. After the ballots are burned, it won't matter."
Juan looked at his reassuring fellow Scrutineer, took a big breath, let it out gently, then wrote the name in the waiting space and added the first tally mark, as did the other two Scrutineers. Giorgio then read the name aloud. A stunned silence filled the Sistine Chapel.

Thankfully the first Scrutineer moved on to the next ballot. Until he opened it. He cast a frantic look at the other Scrutineers, then showed it to them. Their blank looks echoed his. Looking back at the ballot, Juan suddenly sat straighter, firmed his lips, and added the second tally mark. As did Francis and Giorgio. With determination, Giorgio announced the name on the second ballot to a room so quiet it could be an empty crypt on a mountaintop on a still winter night.

The first Scrutineer reached for the third ballot and barely paused after opening it before they added it to the tallies and the name was announced. Ballot by ballot, they added each to the tally until all 115 had been counted on all three lists. Double checking the tallies took only a minute. Then the Scrutineers thankfully handed the ballots and the tally sheets to the Revisers.

Cardinal A no longer stood by the wall of the Sistine Chapel. Only Its solid strength was keeping him upright, the shock was so great. At first his thoughts had matched those of the Scrutineer: that first vote must have been a protest vote by a reformer, since the votes were anonymous. It was a name he did not recognize. When ballot after ballot was the same name, at least he knew his vote would not be among them, as he did not know the name. But by the time all 115 votes had been counted and announced, he realized that he too must have voted for this unknown person. Slowly his brain started to add together different tidbits of knowledge others might lack. That Voice, for instance. By the time the Revisers had confirmed that all the votes had been for the same person with no errors, and the uproar broke loose, he was even standing on his own feet again, but kept quiet, watching to see what happened next.

"This cannot be right!" "Someone must have switched the ballot box!" "We must do this over again!" "Burn the ballots and let us vote again!" Over 100 voices, all wanting to be heard by someone or by the One at the same time, rose louder and louder, echoing back from the vaulted ceiling.

The Masters of Ceremonies re-entered to a scene of turmoil. Surrounded by turbulent cardinals all speaking, shouting, praying at once, one Master of Ceremonies boomed forth "Silencio!" The clammer suddenly stopped. Before it could start again, he pointed to the first Scrutineer. "Explain!"

"All the votes on the first ballot were for the same person. Someone none of us know."

"What?! That is impossible."

Juan nudged the Reviser who had been left holding the ballots and tallies when the floodgates had opened. "Paul, show them the ballots." Swallowing visibly, Paul set the ballots and the tallies on the table and motioned for the Masters to come over to view them.

Bending over the table, the Masters looked at the ballots with their backs to the room and muttered furiously among themselves, while the crowd of Cardinals behind them resumed commenting at each other, though now in clashing whispers.

Stepping back against the wall, Cardinal A resumed listening to the avid discussion happening at the table. "This is impossible! Someone will be excommunicated for this joke!" "Is it a joke? If so, how was it done? The ballot box was empty...we all examined it!" "The ballots were all blank, except for Eligo in Summum Pontificem." "The name is written in all different handwriting, some of which I can even identify. None of them would participate in a prank, nor ever vote for such a person!" "What do we do now?" "There is only one thing we can do. Add dark chemicals, burn the ballots and start over, double checking each step so it cannot happen again. once the ballots are burnt, swear the cardinals to silence, and it will be as if it never happened." "Yes, that is what we should do." "But what if...., no, never mind." "OK, we are agreed?" "Yes."

Cardinal A watched, a slow amused smile erasing all lines of stress and age on his face. He almost could not wait for what would happen next.

Turning to the Cardinals, one Master of the Ceremonies stated in his booming voice, "The ballots and the tallies will be burned. This will not be mentioned again. Voting will resume in the morning." Most of the Cardinals seemed to calm down with this announcement, debating the pros and cons of the vote in much more reasonable terms, even though there was still total disagreement as to what had happened, what it meant and what they should do about it. But at least someone had made a decision.

The Cardinal Dean summoned the Secretary of the College of Cardinals and the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations into the hall. Quickly they were informed of the situation with the unknown candidate and shown the ballots. Looking at the name, the Secretary gulped, "eh, mm". The others did not notice his comment, and proceeded to resolve the situation to the best of their ability.

The ballots and the tally sheets were put in the stove, along with the chemicals to cause dark smoke, and the fire was lit. Sighs filled the room with the release of tension, but stopped abruptly when the cheers went up from outside as a slight quake was felt and the bells all started ringing in celebration.

The Masters of Ceremony rushed out of the Sistine Chapel and looked up. The smoke was white.

Pale, they walked back into the Chapel, past a small group of priests, nuns and Vatican staff standing near the doors. "Cardinal Dean, I believe you will need to ordain as deacon first. Does anyone know where this person might be?"

The Secretary spoke up reluctantly, "I believe outside the doors. I was directed to send a driver to the airport to pick up M.J. from Toronto, Canada from flight 487A this morning, and did so."

"Directed by whom?" "When?" "How?" The questions overlapped each other.

The Secretary raised his hand for time to reply. "During meditation every day for the last 2 months, always specifying this date. In a Voice of chimes and bells those next to me could not hear. But in my arrogance I thought it could not be God's voice. Each day the Voice was louder and more insistent. So today I sent the car."

Silence. That predated the resignation announcement by the previous pope! All the officials walked quietly out of the hall and the Cardinal Dean walked to the small group still standing nearby. "M.J. from Toronto, Canada?"

"Yes?" M.J. stepped away from the group and walked to the Dean's side.

In a soft voice, the Dean asked, "Why are you here?"

"Sister insisted I come here today, even though everything has changed since she bought me the ticket."

"When did she buy you the ticket?"

"Boxing Day last year."

Stepping closer to the doors with M.J. at his side and away from the others, the Dean quietly continued, "Please forgive my questions. Will you come with me into the Chapel? Acceptasne electionem de te canonice factam in Summum Pontificem?" (1)

M.J. looked at the chapel doors. "Oh." Then standing tall, the slender center of a growing circle of peaceful strength, turned to the Cardinal Dean with a smile. "I accept." Then with a flash of impishness, "This is going to be interesting."

As they walked back into the Sistine Chapel, the glorious colors of approaching sunset flashed through the stained glass windows. The Cardinals parted as they walked to tables. Turning to M.J., the Cardinal Dean performed the ordination as deacon and as priest and then the consecration as bishop, in the shortest time ever recorded. Then humbly, he formally asked, "Sister Mary Jesucita of Toronto, Canada, Deacon, Priest and Bishop, "Acceptasne electionem de te canonice factam in Summum Pontificem?"

"Accepto."

"Quo nomine vis vocari? (2)

"I was named by the One we all serve, so I will keep that name. I shall be Pope Mary Jesucita."

Cardinal A, waiting with the rest of the Cardinals and witnesses to these extraordinary events, noticed that the deep abiding joy he felt seemed to spread from face to face throughout the room. As the officials of the Conclave re-entered the room, he noticed that even they were starting to accept what had happened. The Master of Pontifical Liturgical Ceremonies wrote the document recording the acceptance and the name of the new pope, then stood with a smile, as Pope Mary Jesucita left for the "Room of Tears".

As Her Holiness re-entered the Chapel, dressed in robes, pectoral cross, stole and zucchetto, Cardinal A led her to the main balcony.

With a grin on his face, he stepped forward and announced to the now quiet masses below,

"Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:

Habenus Papam!

Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Domina,

Domina Mary

Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Bishipa Jesucita,

qui retineo nomen Mary Jesucita." (3)

Her Holiness stepped forward in the suddenly bewildered silence to deliver her first apostolic blessing, "Urbi et Orbi." (4) "Dear God Almighty, be with us all as we heal and grow and thrive, as we change into the people You meant us to be. In Thy Holy Name, Amen."

And in chimes and bells in tones unearthly and in voice tones all heard and recognized in their hearts, souls and minds, She replied "Amen." Then with a joyous laugh heard around the world and beyond, "Now that THAT misunderstanding is cleared up, let's get to work!"

The new pope laughed joyfully in reply, "Dear Mother/Father of us all, thank You for our lives and our pasts and our futures." The masses broke into cheers of joy and thanksgiving, and the sounds echoed around the world.

..........


It had been a long month and an even longer day. Cardinal A stretched out on his bed, waiting for sleep as the first hints of dawn lit the sky. Her Holiness had declared that tomorrow, make that today, would be a day of rest and prayer, with no scheduled events. The Pope also hinted that it would be the last day of rest for many days to come, so to make the best use of the time.

Closing his eyes, he thought one lingering question to the All-mighty: 'Why now?'

A chiming laugh echoed gently in his mind. "As God, I am limited, once I gave humankind free will. I cannot help with more than I am asked for. When mankind asked only for Me as God the Father, that is all I could give. As long as mankind restricted what was asked for, help for only a few, that limited my options."

"But you, beloved son, were different. Limitations do not exist in your mind. No limitation to who I Am. No limits to who you wanted helped, included. No matter how many times you were told to pray to Me the Father, you always included Me the Mother, even in your first catechism and when you became My priest. You are My key to unlimited possibilities."

"And Her Holiness, the new Pope?"

"Mary Jesucita is My engine that will power the transformation of this world and many others. All she needed was the key to turn on all the possibilities. You. Rest now. You will need it."

Cardinal A slept.

*****


Footnotes/translation:

(1) "Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?"

(2) "By what name do you want to be called?"

(3) "I announce to you a great joy:
We have a Pope!
The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lady,
Lady Mary,
Bishop of the Holy Roman Church Jesucita,
who keeps her name, Mary Jesucita."

(4) "to the City (Rome) and to the World"

Not being Catholic, I researched the format of the Conclave in depth.....ie I looked it up on Wikipedia and used a few tidbits as well as some Latin I found there. All characters and plot herein are from my imagination.

The copyright for The Conclave, by Louise A. Schmidt, is held solely by Louise A. Schmidt. Any copying, printing, publishing, modifying, or converting to script or satire for movie, stage, television or other artistic format involving any kind of financial transaction or monetary gain requires the written permission of the author and appropriate financial compensation to the satisfaction of the author. The fictional characters of the story are the sole property of the author. Anyone who just wants to read or print for personal use or forward to someone else to read this story with no financial interaction (free) is welcome to do so. This copyright notice must be included in any transfer to any copy or media. 03/08/2013

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