Cardinal Schönborn and Pope Francis
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn believes he received two signs from the Holy Spirit
One prominent cardinal has said he experienced “signs” from the Holy Spirit before the election of Pope Francis in 2013.
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, said he felt two “strong signs” that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina was “the chosen one” in the wake of Pope Benedict’s abdication.
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Shortly after Pope Francis was elected, Cardinal Schönborn presented at a conference organized by Holy Trinity Brompton Church in West London. There, said that no cardinal knew who would be elected Pope during the first evening of the Conclave in 2013.
“We were driven by the Holy Spirit to this man,” said Cardinal Schönborn of Pope Francis, “he was sitting in the last corner of the Sistine Chapel: This man he is the chosen one.”
Cardinal Schönborn himself was reportedly one of the top contenders to be elected as Pope in 2013, with the chances of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as slim to none.
Cardinal Schönborn said, “I received at least two strong signs: one I can tell, the other was in the Conclave I can’t speak about – but real signs of the Lord giving me indication ‘he is the one’.”
For his first sign, Cardinal Schönborn recounts that he met a South American couple outside of the Basilica. He asked them, “You have the Holy Spirit, can you give me advice for the Conclave that will start in a few hours?”
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“And the woman whispered in my ear ‘Bergoglio’,” said Cardinal Schönborn, “and it hit me really if these people say Bergoglio, that’s an indication of the Holy Spirit.”
Cardinal Schönborn went on to say that he’s sure many cardinals “received similar signs during the Conclave.”
“It wouldn’t have been possible to have this election so soon and so rapidly” without such signs, believes Cardinal Schönborn.
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