All Eyes On The Sistine Chimney Cam
To non-Catholics who spent Wednesday afternoon staring at the live “Sistine Chimney Cam” on CNBC, you can stop wondering who will “win” the papacy: The left or the right?
This is not Trump v Harris in cassocks, as much as atheists in the legacy media want to portray it that way.
First of all, this is a deeply religious exercise. Catholics happen to believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in the Vatican and that the prayerful cardinals are seeking divine guidance as they search for a successor to St. Peter.
The new pope will be the church’s 267th pope. Yet, conclaves are rare events. Consider this: Since 1788 there have been 60 American presidential elections and only 16 conclaves.
Most of the 133 cardinals who are eligible to vote have never participated in conclave before. In fact, most barely knew each other before they descended on Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis.
There is politicking, of course. These are human beings.
And in the secular world, there is betting. The sports betting site, The Ringer, has an entertaining piece, “Meet The Conclave Candidates: A Papal Betting Guide.”
Penned by sports betting writer, Anthony Dabbundo, this piece provides thumbnail profiles of the six cardinals considered frontrunners. (Betting on the papacy was once a one-way ticket to excommuncation, a rule that was lifted in 1918.)
If history is any predictor, none of those prelates will get the nod. In fact, the last four or five popes were virtually unknown to the public prior to their elections, leaving the press scrambling for biographical information as the white smoke hung over the Vatican.
While many of the cardinals are new to the process of selecting a new pope, many Catholics haven’t experienced conclave either.
Seems the mega Protestant churches, with their video games and lattes give off a social-club vibe, leaving many craving something more. Ironically, these new converts tend to be more traditional than long-time Catholics.
According to the National Catholic Register, some dioceses are reporting year-over-year increases of 30% to 70% in new converts. The Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, for instance, experienced a 72% jump in converts just from 2023 to 2024.
Whether you’re watching the papal chimney cam out of curiosity, because you have money riding on the selection of the next pope or because you’re a believer and love the Catholic church, know one thing: The cardinals are prayerfully seeking divine guidance as they select a successor to St. Peter, not Pope Francis.
