The late Pope’s secret appointment of Vincent Benítez as a cardinal forces the conclave to decide whether an undisclosed act of papal authority will be honored after the Pope’s death. Benítez’s arrival exposes a gap between what the Dean and the other electors know and what the law recognizes: despite being absent from the cardinal-elector list, he has a letter of appointment and a right to join the election. Jacopo Baldassare Lomeli resolves the dispute by treating the late Pope’s documented intention and the governing constitution as binding, then announces Benítez’s admission to the assembled cardinals.

A Cardinal Unknown to the Electors

The appointment first surfaces when Raymond O’Malley tells Lomeli that a cardinal has arrived whose name was never on their list. The newcomer says he was created in pectore, the traditional provision allowing a Pope to appoint a cardinal without disclosing his identity. Lomeli initially suspects an impostor, but Archbishop Wilhelm Mandorff has spoken with the visitor and considers the claim genuine. The man is identified as Vincent Benítez, Archbishop of Baghdad, a Filipino serving in one of the world’s most dangerous places.

The secrecy is consequential even before its purpose is established. Lomeli assumes the late Pope would have informed the Dean of the College of Cardinals if he had made Benítez a cardinal. Mandorff counters that this was no longer required: shortly before his death, the Pope had revised the canon law governing in pectore appointments. The change means that the appointment could remain unknown even to senior church officials, not merely to the wider public.

Mandorff presents material evidence rather than relying on Benítez’s assertion. The late Pope’s letter is addressed to the Archdiocese of Baghdad, which had kept it secret at the Pope’s request, and Benítez also possesses a seal of office. Lomeli finds the papers apparently authentic. Benítez’s role as an archbishop on a dangerous mission gives Mandorff further reason to reject the idea that he would fabricate his credentials, though the documents and the applicable rule, rather than speculation about motive, settle the immediate question.

The Legal Basis for Admission

Lomeli understands that the appointment had been intended to remain secret, but concludes that it cannot remain so once Benítez has reached the Vatican. Since the Pope’s intention to make him a cardinal is confirmed, Lomeli decides that the electors have no choice but to admit him. This decision is not presented as a judgment that every papal appointment is beyond question. When Aldo Bellini objects, Lomeli distinguishes the limits of papal infallibility from the legal status of the appointment: the matter concerns canon law, and the election constitution supplies a specific procedure.

Lomeli invokes paragraph thirty-nine of the Apostolic Constitution. It provides that cardinal-electors who arrive re integra—before a new pastor of the Church has been elected—may take part in the election at the stage it has reached. Under that provision, Benítez is legally a cardinal and may join the conclave. By citing the rule, Lomeli turns a dispute about an unprecedented and secret appointment into a question the constitution answers. He also insists that it is the electors’ duty to honor the late Pope’s wishes rather than decide privately whether the appointment was wise.

Public Recognition at the Meal

At the meal, Lomeli introduces Benítez as a new member of their order whose existence had been unknown to the others and who had arrived only a few hours earlier. He explains that creation in pectore is legitimate, while leaving the reason for this particular secrecy with God and the late Pope. He points to the danger of Benítez’s ministry and the difficulty of his journey, and says that Benítez had prayed before setting out. The introduction makes clear both the unusual circumstances of his arrival and the limits of what the Dean can disclose about the Pope’s decision.

Lomeli then gives the appointment a public consequence: the brotherhood, he says, has grown from one hundred and seventeen to one hundred and eighteen. He welcomes Benítez by name as Cardinal Archbishop of Baghdad and begins applauding him. For several seconds Lomeli is the only person clapping; the others gradually join, until the welcome becomes a warm ovation. The initial hesitation preserves the room’s surprise and the appointment’s political awkwardness, while the eventual applause recognizes Benítez as one of their number. Lomeli then invites him to bless the meal.

Significance within the Conclave

The episode brings secrecy, legal procedure, and institutional obedience into direct contact. The late Pope’s appointment has been withheld even from the Dean, but its concealed nature does not make it invalid: a letter, a seal, a recent revision of canon law, and the re integra rule together establish Benítez’s standing. Lomeli’s decision gives effect to those mechanisms rather than allowing the electors’ lack of prior knowledge to determine the outcome.

The admission also changes the composition of the voting body during the election. Benítez is not merely acknowledged as a cardinal in private; the conclave receives him as an elector, and the number Lomeli announces rises to one hundred and eighteen. The passage therefore makes a procedural ruling into a public act of recognition. The welcome is not unanimous from its first instant, but the gradual applause marks the group’s movement from astonishment toward acceptance of the late Pope’s concealed choice.