The divides behind the scenes in the Vatican ahead of the conclave

The Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse has 128 rooms. From 7 May, it volition beryllium filled with cardinals participating successful the conclave to elite the adjacent Pope. But 1 country successful the guesthouse is inactive sealed with a reddish ribbon, arsenic it has been since its occupant died determination connected Easter Monday.

That suite volition lone beryllium reopened erstwhile the caller pope is chosen. The ribbon remains a tangible reminder of the antheral whose shoes the cardinals are looking to capable – but Pope Francis's beingness looms ample implicit this conclave successful galore profound ways.

He spent 12 years successful the relation and appointed astir 80% of the cardinals who volition prime his successor. He besides looked to radically shingle up the workings of the Catholic Church, moving its centre of gravity distant from its hierarchy astatine the Vatican successful the absorption of the rank-and-file faithful each implicit the world, and focused connected the mediocre and marginalised.

My conversations with cardinals and those assessing the needs of the Church successful the days starring to this papal predetermination astir ever extremity up looking astatine what is required done the prism of what Pope Francis did successful the role.

While successful caller days determination appears to person been a increasing coalescence astir the thought that Francis's enactment should beryllium built on, immoderate of his critics stay acold from convinced. So mightiness determination beryllium capable of them to sway the ballot arsenic the Church attempts to reconcile the antithetic outlooks and realities it faces astir the globe?

During the 2 weeks that followed the Pope's death, the cardinals met astir regular astatine the Vatican for pre-conclave gatherings known arsenic wide congregations.

While the conclave successful the Sistine Chapel is constricted to cardinals who haven't yet reached the property of 80 (133 volition enactment successful this one), these preliminary meetings are unfastened to each 252 cardinals. Each attendee was fixed up to 5 minutes to aerial their views, though we cognize that immoderate took longer.

It was during specified a gathering up of the past conclave of 2013, successful a code lasting little than 4 minutes, that Pope Francis - past known arsenic Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina - made an impact, talking of a request to link with those successful the acold reaches of the Catholic world.

As Pope, helium made a conscious thrust to name cardinals from specified places. It is wherefore this is the astir divers conclave determination has ever been. For the archetypal clip Cape Verde, Haiti, South Sudan, Tonga, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea and Rwanda volition beryllium represented.

That diverseness has already made its mark: the pre-conclave meetings are said to person brought to the fore conscionable however antithetic the needs of the Church look to beryllium depending connected wherever successful the satellite they are viewed.

In Europe, for example, a superior information for immoderate mightiness beryllium uncovering ways to reinvigorate and marque applicable the ngo of the Church successful the look of shrinking congregations, whereas elsewhere - successful African oregon Asian countries - concerns whitethorn revolve astir societal issues, poorness and struggle resolution.

A prospective pope is apt to beryllium 1 who has astatine slightest shown designation of those precise antithetic realities.

The authoritative titles that the caller pope volition inherit gives a consciousness of the breadth of the role: Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Sovereign of the State of Vatican City among them.

While immoderate subordinate to the profoundly spiritual, the past of those titles suggests the request for a statesman too, fixed that the pope is person of a country, albeit the world's smallest.

"Unlike your mean state, the docket of the Vatican is driven to an grade by wherever the pope reigning astatine the clip puts their emphasis," says Chris Trott, British ambassador to the Holy See. "On the look of it a precise tiny state, [but it is] 1 that punches many, galore times supra its weight.

"And Pope Francis had 50 cardinal followers connected Twitter, truthful [it is] a very, precise tiny authorities and an unthinkable planetary influencer."

Pope Francis chose to amplify this portion of the role, becoming a almighty planetary spokesperson connected behalf of those connected the margins, including the mediocre and victims of war.

He besides tried to play the relation of peacemaker, though not everyone thought helium was palmy successful that regard, successful narration to China and Russia successful particular.

According to Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the astir elder Catholic fig successful England and Wales, this enlargement of the relation is 1 crushed truthful galore adjacent extracurricular the religion are invested successful the result of the conclave.

"There is simply a consciousness that the Pope successful the idiosyncratic of Pope Francis became a fig who addressed everybody successful the world… spiritual radical and adjacent those who bash not person a spiritual affiliation," helium says.

"I'm much and much alert that it's not conscionable Catholics who are funny successful this."

For galore voting cardinals, it is chiefly issues wrong the Catholic Church that are nether the spotlight, which brings astir the question of the benignant of pope they privation arsenic a manager, and idiosyncratic who runs the Church's administrative assemblage and its ministries.

While Pope Francis worked connected improving the mode the Church deals with the immense issues of intersexual maltreatment and of fiscal corruption, it is his successor who volition person to guarantee that reforms are evenly applied crossed the Catholic world.

Even supporters of Pope Francis's efforts to marque changes to the mode the Church relates to its rank-and-file believers, and the mode helium built bridges with those extracurricular the faith, were sometimes near confused astir however precisely helium envisioned things should work.

Pope Francis changed the code connected societal issues done comments helium made, talking openly astir subjects ranging from clime alteration to fiscal transparency wrong the Vatican. But passim his papacy, immoderate were unclear astir what helium meant oregon however it would beryllium applied.

One ngo helium had was to instrumentality immoderate of the powerfulness and decision-making distant from the Vatican hierarchy and into the hands of rank-and-file Catholics.

Over astir 4 years, astatine large effort, helium commissioned what was, successful effect, a canvass of galore of the world's Catholics to find retired what mattered to them. Lay radical were invited to enactment successful the astir caller bishop's league wherever the results of the survey were discussed.

The biggest issues raised related to greater roles for women successful the moving of the religion and welcoming LGBT+ Catholics. But the gathering ended successful immoderate confusion, with small successful the signifier of tangible steps guardant and small clarity arsenic to however laic radical volition assistance steer the aboriginal absorption of the Church.

So, determination is simply a wide keenness for greater clarity from the caller pope.

Throughout his pontificate, immoderate vocal traditionalists opposed what they saw arsenic Pope Francis straying from Church teaching and long-standing tradition.

In the pre-conclave meetings of cardinals, a fig of those implicit the property of 80 (who due to the fact that of their property would not beryllium progressive successful voting) took the accidental to play their part.

Most contributions remained secret, but 1 that was reported was that of 83-year-old Italian cardinal, Beniamino Stella. He criticised Pope Francis for "imposing his ain ideas" by attempting to determination Church governance distant from the clergy.

And yet during the homily, oregon spiritual speech, astatine Pope Francis's funeral, what appeared to resonate with the nationalist successful attendance – judging by the measurement of the applause – was speech of the themes Francis chose to champion: the dignity of migrants, an extremity to war, and the environment.

This applause would person been heard large and wide by the rows of cardinals.

In immoderate senses, Pope Francis did person clarity successful focusing connected the Church being applicable to radical successful their regular lives and, indeed, their struggles. He was wide astir connecting with the satellite extracurricular the religion too.

"There is simply a consciousness that successful the dependable of the pope, there's a dependable of thing that is needed," says Cardinal Nichols. "For immoderate radical it's a motivation compass, for immoderate radical it's the consciousness of being accepted, for immoderate radical it's the insistence that we indispensable look astatine things from the constituent of presumption of the poorest.

"That's a dependable that has fallen soundless and our task is to find idiosyncratic who tin transportation that forward."

From the decease of Pope Francis to the infinitesimal cardinals checked into the Santa Marta guesthouse and its overflow residences, determination appeared to beryllium a inclination towards a tendency for continuity of what Pope Francis had achieved.

Though possibly that imaginativeness of continuity is 1 that could bring on much of his sceptics, successful a mode that was pragmatic. The connection "unity" has been talked of a lot, aft a play wherever the divides betwixt supporters and detractors of the Pope's imaginativeness could sometimes go ugly.

But successful the end, erstwhile they measurement into the Sistine Chapel, the holiest of voting chambers, for each the pragmatism they whitethorn person taken into information earlier they formed their ballot, they volition beryllium urged to fto God and the Holy Spirit usher them.