15.32 BSTFormal procession to Sistine Chapel under wayThe formal procession to the Sistine Chapel is starting now in the Pauline Chapel in the Vatican.You can follow the texts in Latin and Italian here.The procession will be led not by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re (as he is too old to take part in the conclave), but by Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, who is also one of the leading contenders to be selected as the next pope.Cardinal Pietro Parolin prays during a Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice Mass ahead of the Conclave, in which he and the other cardinal electors are called to elect a new Pope. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesHere is his profile, by Harriet Sherwood and Sam Jones:
Parolin is seen as a moderate “continuity candidate”, as he was close to Francis. He has been the Vatican’s secretary of state since 2013, playing a key role in diplomatic affairs, including delicate negotiations with China and governments in the Middle East.
He is regarded as a reliable and trusted papal representative by secular diplomats.
In 2018, he was the driving force behind a controversial agreement with the Chinese government on the appointment of bishops, criticised by some as a sellout to the communist regime.
Parolin’s critics see him as a modernist and a pragmatist who places ideology and diplomatic solutions above hard truths of the faith. To his supporters, he is a courageous idealist and avid proponent of peace.
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