Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, said in a recent interview with the Spanish YouTube channel “Cónclave Informa” (“Conclave Report”) that a conclave “is not a political thing, but a prayer” and that a pope “must be a man of faith.”

“For me it’s important that the conclave not be a political thing, but a prayer. Above all, the main protagonist of a conclave is the Holy Spirit, and we must pray for this,” he said.