On March 9, 2013, during the general congregations prior to the conclave, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, then Archbishop of Buenos Aires, delivered words that marked a turning point: "I dream of a church that goes out of itself." That intervention had an immediate impact.
The phrase not only summarized a renewed pastoral vision, but it became the axis of what would later be his pontificate. Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, from Havana, asked for permission to photocopy Bergoglio's manuscript and distributed it among the other cardinals the next day. His message captured the attention of an ecclesiastical electorate still seeking direction after Benedict XVI's resignation on February 28.
In those days leading up to the seclusion in the Sistine Chapel, cardinals under 80 years old gathered to discuss the future of the Church. Although there were no official campaigns, those interventions functioned as true political platforms, where the aspirants outlined their ideas.
Five votes and an unexpected decision
Initially, Jorge Bergoglio was not the favorite. Italian Angelo Scola led the first vote with 35 votes, compared to the Argentine's 20 and Canadian Marc Ouellet's 15. However, the course began to change in the following rounds.
As the voting progressed, many cardinals saw in Bergoglio a man capable of reforming the Church from within, without the political burden that weighed on other candidates. Scola's figure began to lose strength, especially among those who did not want a pontiff heavily involved in Vatican internal politics.
