It was the first conclave night. Among the crowd were numerous journalists from all over the world.
Behind us was, for example, the Italian TV station RAI, whose cameras swung back and forth incessantly: sometimes on the famous chimney, sometimes on the crowd, then again to a live switch in the middle of the crowd. The waiters looked anxiously to the infamous chimney – assuming that it should actually be fast.
But it went by for 15 minutes, half an hour, finally an hour without any emotion. No smoke, nothing. It took two hours for black smoke to finally rise. Why did this take so long?
A lot has already been known about the conclave in which Robert Francis Prevost was elected the new head of 1.4 billion Catholics and Catholics, and immediately afterwards has been leaked into media and newspapers.
This includes the story of the first conclave evening. For example, the one-hour – for some too long – attunement by Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the former papal house preacher, was known.
But was that really all? No, as the two experienced Vatican journalists Elisabetta Piqué (La Nacion) and Gerard O'Connell (Jesuit magazine America) show in their new book. They recently presented a 450-page work in diary-like form, peppered with anecdotes and backgrounds around the papal election – "El último Cónclave" (The Last Conclave).
The English-language version is to be released at the end of March 2026 under the title "The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Suprise of Pope Francis."
Another reason for the delayed beginning was a forgotten mobile phone in the Sistine Chapel – that of an older cardinal. An absolute no-go!
Because actually during the papal election, strict regulations apply: The eligible purple carriers are completely sealed off and have to hand over their smartphones; in addition, the mobile phone network is deactivated. It was only when this "problem" had been fixed that the election could actually begin.
And she then went faster than many had expected.
Favorite seemed to be the highest-ranking Curia Cardinal, the number two in the Vatican: Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. The book draws attention to the solemn service, which was broadcast live worldwide. Giovanni Battista Cardinal Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals and Parolin embraced at the peace greeting, and Re – who speaks loudly because he hears hard – said to Parolin: “Doppi auguri, Pietro!”
That means: double luck, Pietro.
But it wasn’t just Re who apparently hoped to see Parolin in white. Staff in his office also considered their boss the most promising candidate, according to Piqué and O'Connell.
More spats in the Sistina
However, up to the white smoke, it should not only remain with the forgotten smartphone. There were also mistakes in the vote. Instead of 133 ballots, there were suddenly 134 in the urn. The book's two authors describe the situation thus: "Again, each eligible cardinal receives two ballots.
Everyone writes the name of the chosen candidate on it, folds the note, brings it to the altar and casts his vote. Unbelievable, it is the same as in the fifth vote of the conclave of 2013, as I described in my book on the election of Pope Francis. There is something wrong with the counting: instead of 133 ballots, there are 134!"
The mistake was noticed by the voice counter Cardinal Filoni, who immediately informed the other cardinals.
Cardinal Parolin eventually declared the election invalid and the ballots were burned.
The culprit this time was Spanish Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra, Archbishop Emeritus of Madrid, who celebrated his eightieth birthday just eight days later.
Publicly, he admitted to having unintentionally put his ballot in the ballot along with another. He will no longer be present in future conclaves – because of his age, not because of the mistake.
"Take Over, Cardinal Radcliffe!" - "No!"
It continued with a scene that Piqué and O'Connell describe as "hilarious": "The third voting counter not only has the task of reading the name of the elected cardinal out loud, but he must also note this name on the counting list and then prick each ballot with a needle through the word 'Eligo' and pull it on a thread so that the ballots can be kept safely."
Cardinal Filoni, however, had difficulty threading the note on the thread, and asked the second voice counter, Cardinal Radcliffe, to replace it. However, the English Dominican declined. Finally, a South American cardinal took over this threading work.
"Every cardinal had a booklet with all the names to be able to count, which we had to hand over in the end. During the process, however, we all knew when the threshold was getting closer. It wasn't a surprise," U.S. Cardinal Robert McElroy explained, according to the book. "We applauded when the 89. Voice was confirmed, but in truth the result had already been built up before."
The applause lasted about five minutes.
Then Cardinal Parolin is said to have intervened to remind that the counting of votes has not yet ended.
But the name Prevost continued to fall many times.
"When the voice counters finally finished their work and the third voting counter announced that Cardinal Prevost had received 108 votes, thunderous applause broke out again," Piqué and O'Connell write, citing sources.
'We'll make him one of us'
When the white smoke finally rose, the staff of the Vatican Secretariat of State rushed out into the square.
"Everyone was convinced that such a quick result – only four ballots – could only mean one thing: Parolin has been chosen," the book reads.
This conviction also prevailed in the press room. Piqué reports that many people have heard that they say, "It's Parolin!"
Those in charge of the Vatican media also shared this view; their support for Parolin was no secret. "They even tell us that an issue of the L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican daily, is ready in print."
But when Prevost – now Pope – gave his name, a loud, fan song-like "Leooo-ne, Leooooo-ne!" sounded in St. Peter's Square, as you usually know it from Italian football fans. Piqué and O'Connell, meanwhile, report that numerous curia staff had gathered on the terrace of the Apostolic Palace.
They were ready to celebrate Parolin's election.
But the mood abruptly overturned: "We are all petrified, stunned, dejected".
Then an experienced monsignor tried to break the silence: "Lo faremo uno di noi" – "We will make him one of us."
'I didn't expect to be pope'
But while the Curia was sorted out behind the walls of the Vatican, a small, almost intimate scene later took place in a moment near St. Peter's Square.
A girl named Michele approached the Pope and asked him to bless and sign their Bible.
The newly elected U.S.-Peruvian pope did so immediately – and with humour.
"I still have to practice this signature, the old one is no longer good," he said with a chuckle.
Then he surprised her with a simple, almost childishly curious question: "What day is today, the 8. May?"
A question that seemed strangely realistic in the hustle and bustle of the historic moment, down-to-earth, almost commonplace.
Because, of course, for someone who makes the leap from cardinal to head of the Catholic Church within a few hours, this is a turning point of hardly imaginable proportions.
In Rome he was known in the Episcopal Dicastery, but is largely unknown worldwide except in Peru.
Piqué and O'Connell stress that despite the surprise, Prevost had not gone into the election completely naively.
He knew his papabili chance was speculated, as he later told.
But at the same time, he thought the possibility was extremely low.
"I didn't expect to be pope. I never thought the Cardinals would choose an American.