Immediately after the election, which took place
on Wednesday 13 March at 19:00 PM, Pope Francis removed his red
cardinal's skullcap and according to an ancient custom, placed it on the
head of the Secretary of the Conclave, Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri. The proof of what happened is found in some photographs taken at the time of the first blessing of the new Pope: Baldisserri, had an unmistakeably red skullcap on his head as he stood in the second row on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Italian newspaper, La Stampa has learnt that one of the elder masters of ceremonies present in the Sistine Chapel at that time reminded the new Pope of this ancient custom, which fell into disuse more than fifty years ago. Bergoglio consented.
The day after the election, Baldisserri, wearing the red skullcap over the purple Bishops' robes, showed up at the mass co-celebrated with the new Pope in the Sistine Chapel asking to be admitted among the cardinals.
The masters of ceremonies had not expected him to be present, but Baldisserri, bolstered by the red skullcap received the day before, insisted on participating. Eventually, after some clarification, he was allowed to celebrate along with the other cardinals.
The Secretary of the Conclave was also present at Pope Francis' hearing with the College of Cardinals in the Clementine Hall the next morning.
On Tuesday Baldisserri was among the co-celebrants of the mass for the inauguration of the Bishop of Rome's new Ministry, but this time the Secretary of the Conclave was wearing the purple Bishop's skullcap again.
The last Pope to make this gesture at the time of his election was John XXIII, in October 1958. Roncalli had put his cardinal's skullcap on the head of the Secretary of the Conclave Alberto Di Iorio.
The prelate was then included in the list of new cardinals created in the first Consistory by Pope Roncalli on the 15th of December of that same year. Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II and, eight years ago, Benedict XVI, no longer kept this practice alive.
What is the real significance of this gesture? "For now, the Cardinals have not secretly increased their number," said Fr. Federico Lombardi in response to a journalist's recent question as to whether Baldisserri had already received the purple skullcap during the Conclave.
"The Pope will name new cardinals when he holds a Consistory," stated the Director of the Vatican Press Office, implicitly explaining that the gesture of putting the red skullcap on his head is not equivalent to the creation of a cardinal.
The Secretary of the Conclave Baldisserri had long been the Apostolic Nuncio in Brazil before being appointed by Ratzinger as the Secretary (the number-two) of the Congregation of Bishops led by Canadian cardinal Marc Ouellet.
Finally, it should be remembered that as Secretaries of one of the most important Vatican Congregations, Baldisserri's predecessors all became cardinals sooner or later.