What He Did in the City Before the Conclave
- BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and a potential candidate for Pope, made a visit to Bologna on Sunday, engaging in a series of...
- Zuppi's morning included private meetings throughout the city.
- As he exited the headquarters, Cardinal Zuppi, when asked if he had eaten, responded to reporters with, "Have you ate?
Cardinal Zuppi Visits Bologna Ahead of Papal Conclave
BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and a potential candidate for Pope, made a visit to Bologna on Sunday, engaging in a series of meetings and events before his expected return to Rome for the upcoming conclave.
Zuppi’s morning included private meetings throughout the city. He returned to the curia Archbishop’s headquarters on Via Altabella around 1 p.m. Further discussions followed with Monsignor Stefano Ottani and Monsignor Giovanni Silvagni, both general vicars of the diocese, before the Cardinal departed the Archbishop’s Palace at approximately 2:45 p.m.
As he exited the headquarters, Cardinal Zuppi, when asked if he had eaten, responded to reporters with, “Have you ate? Good job,” before entering a blue Volkswagen driven by Don Sebastiano Tori, his secretary.
Rather of instantly returning to Rome, Zuppi traveled to Bortolani, located in the Bolognese Apennines, about an hour’s drive from the city. There, he celebrated Mass at the Pastor Angelicus village, a community founded by Don Mario Campidori that provides short-term stays for people with disabilities, their families, friends, and caregivers.
In a large room within the facility,Zuppi conducted Mass for the elderly residents and numerous individuals from the surrounding areas between Vergato and Valsamoggia.
The Cardinal had committed to this visit some time ago in connection with the Jubilee of Families. Despite Pope Francis’s recent death, organizers were surprised but grateful that Zuppi maintained his commitment, even with the conclave drawing near.
This brief visit to Bologna precedes Zuppi’s return to Rome, where he will participate in pre-conclave congregations before the conclave commences on Wednesday, May 7. A key meeting concerning the selection of Pope Francis’s successor is scheduled for 9 a.m.that day.
Cardinal Zuppi’s name has been prominently mentioned as a potential candidate for the papacy. Don Franco, along with 25 other priests residing at the Cabero House on Via Barberia in Bologna, where Archbishop Zuppi also lives, expressed a mix of emotions. “If I saw him looking out from that window on St. Peter’s Square as a new pope, I would be happy because we all know what person is, but also a little sorry because we will no longer have it here with us. Simultaneously occurring, our task of Christians is praying,” Don Franco said.