Faith

Cardinals from around the world are seen in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel March 12, 2013, as they begin the conclave that would ultimately elect Pope Francis. CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters

Friday, April 25, 2025Faith

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The church is at her best when every soul entrusts itself to Jesus. Hopefully, that is what our next pope will do when he accepts his election.

Jaymie Stuart
Wolfe

There are numerous contenders, of course, and they come from all around the globe. Over the next few weeks, we'll be hearing Vaticanistas on every side handicap the odds. But when the last note of the "Veni Creator Spiritus" is chanted and the cardinal electors enter the Sistine Chapel, all bets will be off. Only the white smoke will reveal whether our next Holy Father is the man everyone expects, or the one no one imagined. Everyone is asking the same question: Who will the next pope be? Their answer is also the same: Only God knows.
But he knows already, and we should find comfort in that. There's no doubt that many of us will develop a favorite candidate (or two) before the conclave begins. All of us will hope -- and pray -- that whoever we see standing on the balcony in a white cassock is a good match for what the church and the world need at this moment in history. But we don't have to trust in cardinals, popes, bishops, or pastors. We just need to trust in Jesus.

That isn't as easy as it sounds, especially when the stakes are high. And the 267th papacy certainly qualifies in that regard. Whoever becomes the Shepherd of the Universal Church will struggle, as every pope does, with forging a fruitful balance between unity and diversity. He will be responsible for the pastoral care of over a billion souls and the chief executive officer of spreading Christ's Gospel to those who are not yet numbered among the faithful. There is no greater task. Apart from the Holy Spirit, no one is equal to it.
As he guides the church and brings Christ to the world, the next pope is bound to make some terrible blunders. The church will face unanticipated challenges. Old disagreements will rise to the surface in new ways. New difficulties will appear on the horizon. The Holy Father's style will win over some and alienate others. His papacy will have both its allies and opponents. And he may never fully be able to tell the difference between them or know whom he can trust.
That's why every one of us -- including the Holy Father -- needs the message of Divine Mercy at the center of our hearts. To whatever lies behind us: Jesus, I trust in you. To whatever stretches out before us: Jesus, I trust in you. In all that challenges or confounds us: Jesus, I trust in you. To all that calls us: Jesus, I trust in you. In every battle: Jesus, I trust in you. For family and friends: Jesus, I trust in you. For the healing I need: Jesus, I trust in you. For peace: Jesus, I trust in you. For all my sins: Jesus, I trust in you. For all who have died: Jesus, I trust in you. For the salvation of my soul: Jesus, I trust in you. In ridicule and persecution: Jesus, I trust in you. For the church around the world: Jesus, I trust in you. For the Holy Father: Jesus, I trust in you.
The church is at her best when every soul entrusts itself to Jesus. Hopefully, that is what our next pope will do when he accepts his election. There, in the Sistine Chapel, humbled by the gravity of the office and the weight of the cross he is about to take up, the man who will be St. Peter's successor will make a choice: to trust himself or to trust in Christ. If he chooses Christ, the church will be in good hands.

- Jaymie Stuart Wolfe is a Catholic convert, wife, and mother of eight. Inspired by the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales, she is an author, speaker, and musician, and provides freelance editorial services to numerous publishers and authors as the principal of One More Basket. Find Jaymie on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @YouFeedThem.