March 20, 2013. (Romereports.com) Canadian Cardinal Thomas Collins is one of the 115 cardinals who voted in the Conclave. He says that in addition to all the images the world saw, of each one of them walking into the Sistine Chapel, once the doors closed, there was an intense sense of prayer.
“This allows this group of individuals, to become an instrument of Our Lord in choosing the Successor of St. Peter,” said cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto (Canada).
Cardinal Bergoglio was not considered a so called ‘papabili’ by the media or even by every day Catholics. Looking back, Collins says it’s amusing and quite interesting to read those reports.
CARD. THOMAS COLLINS
Archbishop of Toronto (Canada)
“Well, I think different journalists write different things. I think journalists are thinking what they think cardinals would want. They would write different things which was interesting to watch.”
Collins says, that Pope Francis is a simple and humble man. He adds that the world got to see that side of him, just moments after he was elected, when he asked everyone to pray for him in silence.
CARD. THOMAS COLLINS
Archbishop of Toronto (Canada)
“When he asked for that silence and just bowed down, I was up there on the other side, looking at all these hundreds of thousands of people and then-silence and just prayer.”
As Pope Francis begins his pontificate, Collins says he’s looking forward to seeing the new Pope in action, as he leads the Catholic Church and gives an extra push to the New Evangelization.
Information about Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI and Conclave 