The qualities of a Pope go far beyond being simply a kind of executive director of the Catholic Church.
Inevitably, at least, you must have a strong and humility faith, be willing to adhere to the teachings of the Church and the apostolic tradition, and to personify the former title of the Pope as Slave slaves of: The servant of God’s servants.
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But I should also have other exceptional qualities and ideally exhibiting great holiness and an outstanding virtue that, as I wrote in my 2020 book The next Popethey can be better understood looking at the example of San Pedro in the New Testament.
Before the petition of Jesus risen to Peter, after he would have denied him: “Take care of my lambs, mammate my sheep”, a Pope must express a love for Christ that extends to all members of his mystical body, the “flock” for which Christ is the good shepherd.
Unlike a politician focused only on this world, the main responsibility of a Pope is to help guide millions of souls to the other world. Therefore, his charity must allow him to “shepherd” the flock through the government, “feed” by liturgy and teach healthy doctrine as a prophet; In essence, the three functions (duties) of a bishop: teach, govern and sanctify.
San Pedro expands these issues, urging priests:
“Care the flock of God who is in your position, not by force, but willingly; not by shameful gain, but with eagerness; not as dominators on which they are in your position, but being examples of the flock. And when the shepherd appears, you will receive the unmarcessible crown of glory” (1 Pe. 5,2).
In addition, also in common with San Pedro, who was tight and driven where “she did not want to go”, a Pope must remain humble and submissive to the divine Providence. And as Pedro, the “rock” on which the visible church was founded, its successor must be, by grace, strong both in character and faith.
Confident with the “keys of the kingdom of heaven”, with the power to “tie and unleash”, the Pope must judge justly, tempering justice with mercy for the salvation of souls. It is also called to confirm the faithful in the church’s teachings, maintain tradition and safeguard orthodoxy, responsibilities that ultimately define the primary mission of Peter. It must guard the deposit of faith and, with it, maintain the unity of the Church.
One of the best guides on papal qualities comes from San Bernardo de Claraval in a instruction entitled About consideration. The thought of the Cistercian monk influenced the potatoes over the centuries, especially in Benedict XIV (1740-1758), which considered it the rule by which papal holiness is measured. Benedict summarized the “Golden Councils” of San Bernardo, which give a good track of what you have to look for in the cardinals considered papable, as follows:
1. The Pope should not be totally absorbed by the activity, but must remember that his main job is to build the Church, pray and teach the people.
2. Above all other virtues, a Pope must cultivate humility: “The more you rise over others, the more your humility must manifest.”
3. The zeal of a Pope must consider his personal holiness, and not the mundane honors.
4. A Pope must have friends known for his goodness.
5. Since power structures receive good men more easily, instead of turning men into good, the Pope must strive to promote those who have demonstrated virtue.
6. When dealing with the evils, the Pope must return his face against them: “What the spirit of your anger who does not fear man. What are your prayers who has despised your warning.”
Benedict XIV also pointed out a seventh characteristic, underlined by the Council of Trent: that a Pope must choose cardinals among the most eminent men in knowledge and virtue, that they are good and well qualified pastors.
According to the former oath that the potatoes made by assuming the position of Bishop of Rome, they must also have zeal for the spread of the Catholic faith, for the promotion and restoration of ecclesiastical discipline and for the defense of the rights of the Holy See.
The Jesuit and doctor of the Church of the 16th century, San Roberto Belarmino, stressed the importance of a Pope can name good bishops, making sure they fulfill their obligations and, if necessary, forcing them to do so. In addition, very aware of what was necessary for a man to be a good and holy pontiff, San Roberto lamented before a conclave in 1605, that he did not occur to him a single candidate that was suitable to become a bishop of Rome.
“We need a lot of prayer,” he wrote, “because I do not see a single person in the Sacred College (of Cardinals) that possesses the qualities (necessary). And what is worse, nobody seeks such a person. It seems to me that for the vicar of Christ you do not seek someone who knows the will of God, that is, that he knows well the sacred writing, but only to someone who knows the will of justinian and other authors. Good temporal prince, not a holy bishop who really spent for the good of souls. ”
In the end, the cardinals chose Cardinal Camillo Borghese, 52, who took the name of Pablo V. His pontificate was tense for conflicts such as the Thirty Years’ War, the dispute with Galileo Galilei and nepotism, but made important contributions to the architectural landscape of Rome before his death, at 70 years.
He often wonders how much the Holy Spirit intervenes in a conclave. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger explained that the third person of the Holy Trinity “does not take exactly the reins of the matter, but, as a good educator, so to speak, it leaves us a lot of space, much freedom, without abandoning us at all.”
“Thus, the role of the spirit must be understood in a much more elastic sense, it is not that the candidate for which you have to vote must be given. Probably, the only security it offers is that the thing cannot be ruined at all.” He added: “There are too many negative precedents of potatoes that the Holy Spirit had not obviously chosen.”
Many other factors will also determine who the cardinals finally choose, such as age, geographical location, theological inclination, personal experience and health. But in regards to personal qualities, these are those that, at least historically, have served as a pattern to govern the cardinal elections.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in the National Catholic Register.
Edward Pentin
Edward Pentin is a collaborator of the National Catholic Register and Vaticanist of Ewtn News. He began informing about the Pope and the Vatican on Radio Vaticana before becoming a correspondent in Rome for Ewtn. He has also informed about the Holy See and the Catholic Church for several other publications, including Newsweek, Newsmax, Zenit, The Catholic Herald and The Holy Land Review, a Franciscan publication specialized in the Church and the Middle East.