Cardinals issue plea for prayerful support of the faithful (Vatican Press Office)

At their general congregation on April 30, the College of Cardinals issued a request to all the faithful for prayers as they prepare for the papal conclave.

The cardinals’ message read, in full:

The College of Cardinals gathered in Rome, engaged in the General Congregations in preparation for the Conclave, wishes to invite the People of God to live this ecclesial moment as an event of grace and spiritual discernment, listening to the will of God.
For this reason, the Cardinals, conscious of the responsibility to which they are called, feel the need to be supported by the prayers of all the faithful. This is the true force that in the Church promotes the unity of all the members of the one Body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 12:12).
Faced with the enormity of the task ahead and the urgency of the present time, it is first of all necessary to make ourselves humble instruments of the infinite wisdom and providence of our Heavenly Father, in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, he is the protagonist of the life of the People of God, the One to whom we must listen, accepting what he is saying to the Church (cf. Rev 3:6).