“Habemus papam” cardinal tells what it was like making famous announcement

In the conclave that elected Leo XIV last May 8, you participated as cardinal protodeacon. It’s an important role since you had the honor of announcing the name of Peter's Successor to the crowd and to the world. How did you react when Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost announced he was taking the name Leo XIV?

Cardinal Dominique Mamberti: At the time I was a little surprised, since no pope had taken this name for over a century. Then it occurred to me that Leo XIII desired to provide a response, with the encyclical Rerum Novarum, to the moral questions tied to the development of industrialization. I thought Leo XIV wished to draw inspiration from his example to respond to the challenges that changes in today's society pose to the Church.

The announcement doesn’t come immediately after the white smoke. What did you do between the moment the doors of the Sistine Chapel opened and the moment you stepped out onto the balcony of the loggia?

Cardinal Mamberti: The white smoke appears from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel when the ballots are burned, after the elected candidate accepts. But inside the chapel, the procedures outlined by the Ordo Rituum Conclavis continue. The pope goes into the sacristy to put on the white cassock and the mozzetta. Then there's a brief liturgy, followed by the expression of obedience of the cardinals, which means a greeting from each cardinal elector to the Holy Father. Only then does the protodeacon deliver the announcement from the loggia delle benedizioni [“Loggia of the Blessings,” Ed.].

What memory do you keep of the moment you stepped onto the loggia balcony to pronounce the Habemus papam?

Cardinal Mamberti: The announcement is an emotional moment, which is part of an event — the conclave — that is even more emotional and gripping. In my experience, the most intense moment is when you place your ballot in the urn with Michelangelo's Last Judgment before your eyes. At that moment, you pronounce the oath, "I call as my witness Christ the Lord, who will judge me, that my vote is given to the one whom, according to God, I believe should be elected."

Returning to the announcement though, I was touched by the enthusiasm of the crowd. They had flooded St. Peter's Square and the entire Via della Conciliazione, waiting to hear the name of the new Bishop of Rome. The roar rising from the Square was so loud that I had a moment of hesitation, wondering if my voice would be audible.

Were you prepared for this historic mission? For example, did you have in mind how previous protodeacon cardinals carried it out?

Cardinal Mamberti: No, I didn't prepare myself, but I vividly remembered the evening of October 16, 1978. At the time, as a seminarian at the French Seminary in Rome, I was present for the proclamation of John Paul II's election by Cardinal Pericle Felici. I also received the first blessing of the Polish pope.

You were also alongside Pope Leo XIV when he delivered his first address. What struck you about this first speech?

Cardinal Mamberti: The Pope's first words were centered on the person of Christ, Savior of the world and Prince of Peace, and they set the tone for his pontificate. Beyond his words, I admired the calm and serenity — undoubtedly the fruits of the grace of state — with which he immediately took up his ministry as pastor of the universal Church. He is tasked with confirming his brothers in the faith and constituting, "as the Successor of Peter, [...] the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of both the bishops and of the faithful," as taught by the Second Vatican Council (Lumen Gentium 23).