A forgotten cell phone in a pocket and cardinals without alarm clocks. These are some of the behind-the-scenes details of the last Vatican Conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, according to a new investigative book by journalists Elisabetta Piqué and Gerald O'Connell.
The book, titled “The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis,” reveals that the black smoke delay on the evening of May 7 was caused not only by the long sermon before the vote, but also by a technological incident: an elderly cardinal had forgotten a mobile phone in his pocket, something strictly forbidden in the Sistine Chapel. The signal was picked up by security and the device was immediately handed over, in a scene the authors describe as “unimaginable, even for a movie.”
The 133 cardinal electors entered the Conclave at 4:30 p.m., while the “extra omnes” was declared around 5:45 p.m. Black smoke was expected at around 7:30 p.m., but it did not appear until after 9 p.m., raising questions among the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. Due to strict secrecy, no one knew the reason for the delay.
Another interesting detail is the lack of telephones, which are usually used as alarms. Some cardinals, sheltered in the Casa Santa Marta, risked oversleeping. The Vatican distributed alarm clocks to them, but not all managed to set them properly. Some even complained about the lack of a toilet inside the Sistine Chapel, being escorted outside by a cardinal deacon. “It’s like going back to kindergarten,” one of them is quoted as saying.
As for the voting, the authors write that the initial favorites were Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdő, Italian Pietro Parolin, and American Robert Francis Prevost. Within four rounds, support consolidated around Prevost, who was elected Pope Leo XIV with 108 votes.
The book also reveals that the fourth round of voting was repeated after a cardinal mistakenly threw two ballot papers into the ballot box – an incident similar to that of the 2013 Conclave.
