1. Interpret. Since the death of Pope Francis, the Vatican has been permanently on the front pages of the media, with a constant display of opinion pieces and such a notable absence of critical insight that it seems to have completely normalized what, in the light of modern critical rationality, should be the dark areas of the Catholic Church. Male supremacy, that is, the exclusion of women from both royal and sacramental power. Aristocratic logic: the cardinals, a tiny number of people, handpicked by previous popes, assuming the representation of hundreds of millions of citizens to elect their leader, with Catholics having no say. And consequently, secrecy, a prelude to impunity, as a principle and value that marks the ritual of the conclave: the cardinals' enclosure in the Sistine Chapel, with the smoke from the chimney as the only instrument of communication with the outside world, as if it were a guarantee of feeling God at the time of making the decision.

With the conclave, everyone has talked about the countercultural aura of secrecy in a society tired of transparency and the fascination with liturgy in a world without rituals. This is all very well, but I would say it's being discussed in a rather poor way, assuming a logic of caprice according to which we desire what we don't have simply so we can romanticize the past. But what if behind all this calling us the Catholic Church there were answers to important questions, whether we are religious or not?

In the conclave that this week appointed Robert Prevost as Leo XIV, technology and tradition have been engaged in a curious battle. While the 133 cardinals met in the Vatican to choose the successor to the Pope Francis, an unprecedented deployment of technological security measures has turned the Sistine Chapel into an impenetrable digital bunker.

Did the election of the new pope interest people, or did it interest the media, and has it ended up interesting people because they were given a conclave for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? My hypothesis is that the media sets the agenda, but if there wasn't genuine curiosity about the election, you can already focus on the fireplace; there are more engaging videos on TikTok. The atavistic ritual of the 133 men locked away and disconnected, the experience of sharing a piece of history live must go a long way, but it doesn't explain everything. In a world of bad news and worse leaders, we've been watching to see if a counterweight would emerge in Rome. And even those who only enter a church as tourists have been watching closely, with a wary eye. Leo XIV seems like that counterweight.

Smoke pollutes, but here we were, inhaling deeply. The show must go on, as some say; the liturgy, as others say. What is clear is that the spectacle has been unanimously masculine. It is precisely that men are interested in everything men do and that the revolution of the Catholic Church is always not to make a revolution. But I have lost my way to heaven. Never better said. By heaven, not by the saint, because what fascinates me is not a spiritual leader, and even less a pope, but the probe launched by the Soviet Union in 1972 and expected to fall to Earth before the end of the week. According to the European Space Agency, it will be on Saturday at 8:18 a.m., with an 18-hour margin. That's no small margin. If these ESA guys ever lose their jobs, they can always go work for the commuter train.

This morning Two conclave votes are scheduled, in Rome. Since the dean of cardinals gave Cardinal Parolin a double peace, it has been read between the lines that, this time, Parolin will contradict the saying: a cardinal will enter the conclave, and a pope will emerge. We'll see, because Pietro Parolin has campaigned, which began before Pope Francis's death, and there are cardinals who didn't like his candidacy. Parolin is more of a diplomat than a pastor; he's the current Secretary of State and he's the man who fits the idea that after a Polish pope, another German pope, and another Argentinian pope, the Vatican should put its house in order and return to an Italian pope, one who knows what's going on in the political and economic organization of the city. "inventions" (a word that refers to the Eurocentric vision of the Church). But we'll see.

With an abundance of images served from the crane camera, crossing the heights of the Sistine Chapel, now looking for Michelangelo's bearded God touching Adam with his finger, now going down to the imperturbable halberdiers of the Swiss Guard forming on the shining marble with the one and a Media has transmitted the silent wait until four thirty in the afternoon sharp, when the cardinals, commending themselves to all the saints in a hypnotic litanyearly pro nobis,They have entered the Sistine Chapel in procession. They have invoked intelligence, truth and peace, and have sworn on theGospel according to Saint Matthew –opened for Sunday, which reads: "While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew [...]. Come with me, and I will make you fishers of men"– proceed in good conscience to the election of a new pope. And then, everyone out.

With an abundance of images served from the crane camera, cruising the heights of the Sistine Chapel, now searching for Michelangelo's bearded God touching Adam with his finger, now descending to the imperturbable halberdiers of the Swiss Guard formed on the soft, single red marble.Vatican Mediahas transmitted the silent wait until four thirty in the afternoon sharp, when the cardinals, entrusting themselves to all the saints in a hypnotic litanyearly pro nobis,They entered the Sistine Chapel in procession. Awareness of the election of a new Pope. And then, everyone out.

The start of the conclave has dragged the programs into a level of procedural detail that is frankly excessive. We are more informed about the details of voting for a pope than about the dynamics of the electoral system of democracy. The so-called experts—because Vatican experts emerge from under the rocks—describe to us even how they would act in the most unheard-of eventualities. Theories are often contradictory among the wise men at the same table or between different networks. This is proof that the conclave has become a theme park of the Church's liturgical extravagance. The television presentation demonstrates this. Everything is a mouse, while Helena Garcia Melero consulted with the panelists, religious music played in the background. A heavenly choir of white voices to elevate the audience's spirituality. Public mirror They recreated the interior of the Sistine Chapel with a hilarious twist. Susanna Griso and her co-host placed themselves inside the image, inside the papal tribune, and from the fictional little balcony they commented on the voting dynamics. Minutes later, on the set, they made a mosaic of all the cardinals on the screen behind the collaborators' sofa. More than a conclave, it seemed like the start of a talent show in which participants would be eliminated.

Today the news is out in Rome, because the conclave begins. At 4:30 p.m. the cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel, the "Everyone out!" will be pronounced, and they will vote twice. It's almost certain that no candidate will get the votes today These are necessary to be elected pope, because the first votes are always tentative, measuring the strengths of the sponsoring groups. Therefore, starting today, we will enter the dynamic of fumatas, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, until the voters choose the compromise candidate who will become Francis's successor. If after the four votes on Saturday there is no agreement, there would be no voting on Sunday and voting would resume on Monday. These pages contain the names that are most frequently heard, with their strengths and weaknesses. As you can imagine, the ARA will send alerts to each fumata.

Today, Pedro Sánchez is in Barcelona, ​​​​at the Círculo de Economía conference. A week later, he will offer no explanation for today's blackout, which occurred a week ago. Allow me the pun, but the more days pass since the blackout, the less the blackout turns off, and the more the concern about what happened and why it could happen again turns on. Sánchez's silence is deafening.And precisely because it was so serious (even though we all came out of it unscathed together), the attribution of responsibility could have far-reaching consequences: Did the grid not hold up because it wasn't prepared for so much renewable energy? And why? Who hasn't invested, the state or the operators? Who is responsible for designing and implementing the firewalls to prevent a service outage across the entire Iberian Peninsula? And what about mobile phone service shutting down due to a lack of its own energy? The level of technological sophistication required by everyday life requires a lot of investment in maintenance. And I insist on the social and political implications: we are a resentful society, very prone to believing conspiracy theories, and the more days that pass without an explanation, the more the market opens for charlatans and conspirators to gain audiences and votes. Spain will now spend (we are going to spend) more than 10 billion euros on defense spending. If you want to defend yourself, why not start by reviewing the electrical grid from top to bottom? Because on Monday, in five seconds, sixty million people were shut down. The fact that Sánchez didn't say anything until six hours later is quite telling. Pretending we're going to stop the coup with a survival kit is childish.

One of the cardinals tells me that he is in Rome about to lock himself in conclave as soon as theextra omnes (Everyone out), that "now we are in the stage of meditation, concentration, and prayer. [...] The congregations of these days are very interesting. They talk about the situation of the Church and the world and, consequently, the profile of the Pope who should come. But, all in all, there is a serene, calm, and fraternal atmosphere."

In form, the conclave seems remote and ceremonious, spiritual, almost magical. However, its dynamics are the same as those in the business world when a founder, or a great charismatic CEO, leaves his position. I would say that the Church faces at least four major challenges in this transition.

The white smoke that ends up spreading over the Piazza Sant Pere in the Vatican is the result of a meticulous process that culminates with the"Habemus papam". A smoke that, after the death of Pope Francis, will give way to the announcement of the next pontiff once the conclave has found a candidate. This is a procedure with an eight-century tradition after processes that in some cases were chaotic. When did it emerge and why? Is it true that they were left to their own devices until a pope was elected? How have conclaves evolved?

On Tuesday, one of the planes connecting Madrid and Rome was full of priests. Also traveling incognito, in civilian clothes, was a Spanish cardinal, trying to avoid detection. He was going to Italy to bid farewell to Pope Francis, but also to participate in the election of the future leader of the Catholic Church. Rome is abuzz these days. Three-way talks, the occasional clandestine meeting, and whispers in the shadows of the cardinals who will elect the new pontiff. As editor Ignasi Moreta explains, Cardinal Narcís Jubany participated in the two conclaves held by Pope John Paul I and John Paul II in 1978. During those days, some cardinals even had lunch three times in one day. And it is now, in the days leading up to the funeral, that alliances are beginning to form. Sotto voce. Although the election is in the hands of the 135 cardinals under the age of 80, the rest of the members of the College of Cardinals, who are the most experienced, also participate in these days of meetings and agreements. "They have lived through many things, they are influencers, are the ones who will say don't do this or look here," says journalist and professor specializing in religion Míriam Diez.

I've read sports reports that speak of Girona FC's difficulties in "the fight to survive." They refer to the risk of relegation from the Second Division. But it can't be denied that the concept, read in the abstract, has a great philosophical meaning. Because "the fight to survive" is a fairly accurate definition of the concept of life. This fight is what drives every living being. But it's also the fight of collectives, of societies, of ideas. To exist is important. To shine, to excel, even more so. But to remain, ah, this is already very big. And since this is forbidden to us as human beings, because we are the pulse and the pulse we will always be, things that last fascinate us, a kind of antiquarian's passion.

This Saturday, St. Peter's Square in the Vatican will witness the funeral of Pope Francis. The death of Jorge Mario Bergoglio last Easter Monday opens a series of unknowns, Among them will be those who will attend the Pope's funeral. The ceremony is scheduled for April 26 at 10 a.m., after the coffin has spent three days in a chapel of rest. Once the ceremony is over, the Pope's body will be transferred to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial. his grave.

Rome and the entire Catholic world are experiencing shock at the announcement of the death of Pope Francis, who suffered a stroke when it seemed the Pope was recovering from the respiratory illness that kept him hospitalized for more than a month. The Vatican is now beginning a process it hasn't experienced since March 12, 2013, when the conclave met for the first time. following the resignation of Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger).

During his pontificate, Pope Francis reformed the composition of the body that will decide his successor, increasing the representation of cardinals from Africa and Asia, in line with the distribution of the faithful of the Catholic Church. With this composition, it is more difficult to predict the vote of the new dioceses. The chosen cardinal will be someone with the skills, experience, and personality necessary to assume leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. Age is also another factor, because in recent conclaves, older popes have been chosen to ensure shorter pontificates.

That's the title of one of the chapters in the autobiography Francis published months ago. In fact, since they hated peace, they hated him; so much so that they prayed for his quick death. That's why, last fall, he said goodbye to a group of Catalans who came to see him in Rome with a smile: "Pray for me, but in a good way, okay?"