Cardinal Hungarian Péter Erdö said that in the conclave, which begins on Wednesday, May 7 and in which he will participate, the CEO or general director of the Vatican is not chosen, but to a spiritual father for the more than 1.3 billion Catholics in the world.
“Now that the smoke is about to rise on the Basilica of San Pedro, I discover myself reflecting on the words of St. Augustine: ‘The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for Santos,” the Archbishop of Esztergom – Budapest shared on Monday, on Monday, May 5, Budapest, Budapest, in his X account.
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“The conclave It is not about choosing a CEO (general director) for the Vatican, but a spiritual father For 1.3 billion souls, ”he said.
As the smoke is about to rise over St. Peter’s Basilica, I catch myself reflecting on the words of St. Augustine: “The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.”
Conclave is not about choosing a CEO for the Vatican, but a spiritual father to 1.3 billion souls.– Péter Cardinal Forest (@Card_petererdo) May 5, 2025
The cardinal celebrated yesterday the Mass on the third Easter Sunday in his titular church in Rome, the Basilica of Santa Maria Nova, where he encouraged to pray “by the cardinal parents who will soon have to choose the successor of San Pedro, who will have the task of continuing the mission that Peter received from the Lord in the Sea of Tiberíades” of “Aplacement my sheep”.
The purple 72 years acknowledged that “the mission exceeds human forces, but Jesus promises the gift of the spirit and his personal presence that will be with the Church until the end of time.”
Erdö then explained a double aspect of the relationship that each Catholic must have with Jesus: one that considers the historical plane and another that has to do with the direct relationship with Christ through prayer and sacramental life.
“Perhaps one of the signs of the times is the flowering of movements of spirituality and new communities, which are a gift for the Church if they act according to an authentic faith, lived with balance and maintain a living relationship with the dioceses and parishes,” the cardinal continued.
Then reflecting on the mission of the Church to make disciples to all, the purple highlighted the importance of collegiality, which can be seen in the Cardinal College and the Synod of the Bishops.
“It is significant how Pope Francis, in his Apostolic Constitution on the Synod of Bishops, part of a very accentuated theology of Episcopal Collegiality. To be able to fulfill the common mission of announcing the good news of Christ, the role of local bishops seems decisive,” he said.
To conclude, Cardinal Erdö encouraged to pray “for the conclave, by the new Pope who will be chosen, as well as by the Church that must fulfill his mission in a dramatic phase of human history. This humanity needs Christ. It also needs us, if we are of Christ.”
Who is Cardinal Péter Erdö?
Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Primado de Hungary since 2003, Cardinal Péter Erdö was born in 1952. Doctor of theology and canon law, he was president of the Episcopal Conference Council of Europe and is a great chancellor of the Catholic University Pázmány
Péter Erdö is considered one of the main theologians and canonists of Europe, and one of the conservative candidates highlighted in the 2025 conclave. He was created Cardinal in 2003 by Pope San Juan Paul II.
Walter Sánchez Silva
I am husband since 2008. With my wife we have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before birth. Since I joined ACI Press in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Colonia, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the family’s synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Sinodality, in 2023. I follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers the persecution of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as the ecclesial news in the region.