All eyes on Rome 

All eyes on Rome. Little versed in earthly matters, let alone in those beyond this world. Nevertheless, as we witnessed the funeral of Pope Francis, there were certain elements embedded in the “spirit of the times” that compelled us to comment on what is unfolding.

A brief historical preface, necessary for those who may not remember.
The world had not seen the death of a reigning Pope since April 2005, exactly 20 years ago, when John Paul II left this earth—after a long journey marked by illness that had prepared the Church for his departure.
His successor, Benedict XVI, in fact chose to resign from the position after not even eight years of pontificate, at the beginning of 2013, making way for Francis—the first Pope in many respects: his name, geographic origin, and religious institution, being a member of the Jesuit order.
Those who were there will remember both the enormous crowd that participated in the funeral of the “Santo subito” Pope and how the outcome of the following Conclave seemed, if not predictable, at least directed toward the figure of Joseph Ratzinger.
Twenty years later, elements of both continuity and discontinuity surrounded this globally significant event. As in 2005, all the world’s major leaders were present, making the funeral the largest gathering of political authorities imaginable.

Firstly, if in 2005 the main international concern was the two wars led by the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan—a divisive factor, though within certain limits, among Western powers and beyond—today the conversation is dominated by multiple parallel conflicts, the so-called “piecemeal world war” coined by Pope Francis in 2014.

Secondly—and perhaps a marginal point—back in 2005, social networks and all their accompanying dynamics of instant and extreme communication did not exist. Pope Francis’s funeral was an occasion to capture every detail in the postures of the key attendees and give rise to all sorts of interpretations—more or less grounded in reality—about alliances and divisions.
Thanks to social media, the upcoming Conclave also takes on a different meaning. If 20, or even just 8 years ago, we all hung on the words of the few “Vatican experts,” today we are already flooded by a vast array of “neo-Vaticanists” or “make-shift Vatican experts,” in a sort of revival of what we saw during the pandemic with self-proclaimed “virologists.” They too will get their proverbial “15 minutes of fame” foreseen by Andy Warhol. The Conclave is not merely a religious matter—it is political.
However, “political” does not mean it belongs to everyone; that is something we should always keep in mind.

Lastly, politics—the earthly kind. If Rome became the center of the world, Giorgia Meloni and President Mattarella were at the center of that center.
Particularly the Prime Minister, fresh from her trip to the United States and the subsequent visit from Vice President Vance, had the opportunity to welcome informal meetings between figures who otherwise would have resisted coming closer together.
But since every action has its reaction, voices of “concern” were already multiplying regarding the appropriateness of holding such meetings in this kind of context, as if funerals themselves had not, for millennia, been occasions for relationships among those lucky enough not to be the main subject of the event.

Until the end of the Conclave, then, all eyes will be on Rome and St. Peter’s Square—with curiosity and a desire for analysis, but always starting from a place of deep respect for a Pope who marked recent times and who will also influence the initial judgment of his successor to the Chair of Peter.