Benítez’s arrival at the conclave

Benítez’s arrival at the conclave converts a concealed appointment into a question the electors cannot evade: whether the late Pope’s unannounced choice carries legal force. Jacopo Baldassare Lomeli, acting as Dean, answers by invoking the governing constitution, admits Benítez to the gathering, and publicly welcomes him as the College’s 118th member. The episode makes procedure more than ceremony: the rule determines who may participate, while Lomeli’s interpretation binds the assembly to honor the late Pope’s intention.

An unexpected arrival

Monsignor O’Malley tells Lomeli that another cardinal has appeared, although the man’s name was never on the conclave’s list. The newcomer says he was created in pectore, secretly appointed by the Pope. Archbishop Mandorff has spoken with him and does not believe he is an impostor, but the claim still requires the electors to decide what his presence means.

Mandorff brings Lomeli to a back office behind the reception desk. Through a glass wall, Lomeli sees the slender visitor sitting on an orange plastic chair between a printer and boxes of copying paper. Dressed in a plain black cassock and without a skullcap, Benítez leans forward with his rosary in his hands, apparently praying. He has arrived just as the entrance is closing; because his name is absent from the list and he is not dressed as a cardinal, the Swiss Guard has referred him to Mandorff for checking.

The practical signs of his journey reinforce how little he has been able to prepare for a formal reception. Benítez has no luggage. He explains that he went to the airport in Baghdad empty-handed to disguise his intentions because government people follow him wherever he goes. He slept in the arrivals lounge in Beirut and landed in Rome two hours before the conversation. Lomeli asks O’Malley to find toiletries, clean clothes, and choir dress for him.

The dispute over admission

The secret appointment is not merely a question of whether Benítez’s documents look genuine. Lomeli reasons that if the Pope intended to make him a cardinal, his credentials should be treated as genuine, and that the electors have no choice but to admit him. Bellini tries to stop him, asking whether they must do so. Lomeli replies that deciding whether the late Pope was right or wrong is not their task: their duty is to see that his wishes are honored.

Lomeli grounds that position in canon law rather than personal deference alone. He distinguishes the limits of papal infallibility, which covers doctrine rather than appointments, from the rule governing an elector who arrives before a new Pope has been elected. He cites paragraph 39 of the Apostolic Constitution: a cardinal-elector who arrives re integra may take part in the election at the stage it has reached. On that basis, Lomeli declares Benítez legally a cardinal, pulls free of Bellini’s attempt to restrain him, and opens the door.

Benítez rises slowly to greet Lomeli. The Dean apologizes for the wait and explains that checks were necessary before welcoming him. Although the admission resolves his immediate status, Bellini warns that Benítez’s return will have diplomatic repercussions and may not be his own decision. Benítez answers that the decision will belong to the next Pope. Lomeli sets aside that larger question for the moment and turns to arranging the necessities of Benítez’s stay.

Recognition by the College

At the meal, Lomeli presents Benítez to the assembled cardinals as a previously unknown member whose arrival at the Vatican has taken place only hours earlier. He explains that creation in pectore is a legitimate procedure and says that the reason for the secrecy is known only to God and the late Pope. The dangerous nature of Benítez’s ministry and the difficulty of his journey, Lomeli adds, are reasons to welcome him.

Lomeli then names him as Vincent Benítez, Cardinal Archbishop of Baghdad, and announces that the brotherhood has grown from 117 members to 118. The first applause comes only from Lomeli; after an awkward pause, the other cardinals join in, and the response becomes a warm ovation. Benítez looks around in wonder at the smiling faces. The gradual applause marks a change from disputed credentials to public recognition: the assembly does not merely tolerate his presence but accepts him into its company.

Lomeli asks Benítez to bless the meal. Benítez appears alarmed for a moment, then accepts the request as an honor. After a long silence, he prays for those who cannot share the meal and asks the cardinals to remember the hungry, thirsty, sick, and lonely, as well as the sisters who prepared and served the food. The prayer places his first formal welcome among the College’s ordinary communal acts, giving his arrival a quiet counterpart to the legal argument that secured it.

Consequences for the election

Benítez’s admission changes the constitution of the conclave at a moment when the cardinals are already maneuvering for support. The novel identifies him as a newly revealed elector, not simply a visitor whose claim has been noted; Lomeli’s decision gives him the right to participate in the election. This makes the application of the re integra rule consequential: the timing of his arrival, before a new Pope has been elected, determines whether the late Pope’s secret appointment can be recognized in the ongoing process.

The episode also establishes Lomeli’s role as an interpreter and custodian of institutional procedure. He does not deny the uncertainty surrounding a secret appointment or dismiss the possibility of diplomatic consequences. Instead, he distinguishes those concerns from the immediate question of legal eligibility, cites the applicable provision, and acts before Bellini can prevent him from admitting Benítez. The sequence moves from an absent name on a list, through a dispute over authority, to a public introduction and collective welcome. Benítez’s arrival therefore tests whether the conclave will treat its rules as binding even when applying them alters who sits among the electors.