As cardinals meet in Rome to elect a new pope, Catholics in Regina are keeping a close eye on the papal conclave.
Among the contenders for the papacy is Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who visited the Queen City when the Regina Archdiocese celebrated its centennial in 2010.
Regina Archbishop Daniel Bohan says he would be both delighted and surprised if cardinals picked the Canadian cardinal to be pope.
“I don’t know that he would have a good shot at it,” Bohan said. “I think the Europeans put a lot of value on depth of culture and I think the North Americans are looked upon as being sort of the new kids on the block in world history.
“But that can change in the blink of an eye.”
Miles Meyers, the coordinator of Catholic education services for Regina Catholic Schools, also believes the odds are stacked against Ouellet.
“If it was like a hockey pool, I would be picking all of the Italians,” Meyers said with a laugh.
“I just have a sense that since they’ve had two non-Italians in a row, and the Italians have the greatest block of cardinals, that they may swing back to an Italian this time.”
Pope Benedict XVI surprised Catholics the world over on Feb. 11 when he announced he would be stepping down at the end of the month.
The 85-year-old Benedict became the first pontiff in 600 years to resign, citing his advanced age and declining health.
“It was very much a surprise,” said Bohan, who called Benedict “one of the great popes of the century.”
“He was a very intelligent man,” he said. “He was able to very clearly and calmly address some of the basic issues of the church and the relationship of the church to societies in the world today.”
If a pope is not elected in a single vote on that first day, cardinals will cast four ballots a day -- two in the morning and two in the afternoon -- until two-thirds agree on a single candidate.
Ballots will be burned following each vote, with the colour of the smoke ascending from a chimney above the Sistine Chapel announcing whether or not a decision has been reached.
Black smoke means cardinals have not reached a two-thirds majority, while white smoke means the next pope has been chosen.
The process could stretch on for days or even weeks, although no conclave in the past century has ever gone beyond five days.
Bohan says the election of a new pope will have a trickle-down effect on Catholics in Regina.
“The pope sets policies and directions on how the church carries out its work and its mission, so it has an effect on everybody,” Bohan said.
Benedict left his mark on the community when he declared a global Year of Faith, which concludes in November.
“The Year of Faith has been a big deal within the Archdiocese of Regina and, by extension, also within our school division,” Meyers said.
“We’ve been doing special things at all of our schools and within the division to mark the fact that this is a special year that the pope declared. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was to continue with whoever the next pope is.”
Both Bohan and Meyers say the new pope will face many challenges, including dealing with child sexual abuse within the clergy and declining church attendance in North America and Europe.
“I’ll pray for him,” said Meyers, “because I think he has an impossible job.”
With files from CTVNews.ca Staff
