Will Peter the Roman Emerge from the Conclave?

David Martin | The Daily Knight

In the news we constantly hear of the various “contenders” vying for the Chair of Peter, but “contender” is the wrong word to use. Any true bishop or cardinal would never compete for the Chair of Peter for to do so would demonstrate the height of arrogance and pride, from which all perdition had its beginning.

What is needed on the eve of this historic conclave 2025 is a papal candidate who is meek, selfless, non-ambitions, and who acts only in the best interests of others. We need an enlightened and courageous man who thinks with God, not with the world – a man who is chosen by God himself.

Now we know that if a conclave is conducted with integrity (unlike the one in 2013) and Christ through his cardinals chooses a pope to his liking, we must always stand behind that pope and heed the good things from above that God inspires in him.

It appears that we have one such candidate for the Papal Throne, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem who has showed himself to be worthy of the papal office. For he has demonstrated a courageous heroism not seen in most any prelate of our time, excepting perhaps Archbishop Vigano.

In October 2023, Pizzaballa offered his life in ransom for 200 women and children who were held hostage in the Gaza Strip. With this, he is anti-Zionist and committed to defending the Christians of Palestine who are severely persecuted by the Jews.

If Pizzaballa has shown this defense for his fellow man in Gaza, it is a clear indication that he will show the same defense for the Universal Church. We need a pope who will guard and nourish his flock, not a hireling who allows the wolves, heretics, and homosexuals to tear away at the flock. We need a man of God who faces God and not the people during Holy Mass, and who earnestly seeks the conversion of the whole world to the Catholic Faith. We indeed need a holy pope who is absorbed in God and who continuously speaks with Him, not an agent who dialogues with the Church’s enemies for self-gain.

Could Pizzaballa be a Latter Day John the Baptist?

What is interesting is that Cardinal Pizzaballa’s first name is Pierbattista, which in Italian means Peter the Baptist, which also alludes to John the Baptist who went ahead of Christ to prepare the way for his coming. Could Pizzaballa be a latter-day John the Baptist (Elias) who will prepare the way for Christ’s Second Coming?

We should also point out that Cardinal Pizzaballa is Italian, a Roman, who if elected would be the first Italian pope since 1978. Could he be Peter the Roman who will restore all things in Christ?

Pizzaballa is said to be “one of the most experienced” Church fathers in issues regarding the Middle East. He lives in the midst of suffering and oppression, worse than that of the Ukraine. The Jews have hammered and beat the innocent Palestinians for no cause other than that of hating the Christian Palestinians, so it appears that God has trained and prepared Pizzaballa to help the innocent during the worldwide persecution that is coming.

We cannot conclude this article without acknowledging that there are other cardinals who also appear to be worthy of the Papal Throne, prelates like Cardinal Sarah, Cardinal Burke, or Bishop Athanasius Schneider. On the eve of this historic conclave, we earnestly pray that God will give us a pope of his choice, so that if Cardinal Pizzaballa is not chosen, he will be a loyal son of the pope he does chose.