Cardinal Tagle reflects on recent Papal conclave attention

Pope Leo XIV and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle hold a private meeting on Friday, May 16. —Photo by Vatican News

MANILA, Philippines — “As someone who does not enjoy being put in the limelight, I found the attention rather unsettling.”

This is what Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle answered when asked about being considered as “papabile” or a cardinal possessing characteristics of a pope, as he garnered much support across the globe during the Papal conclave.

READ: Cardinal Chito Tagle, the ‘Asian Francis’, is papal contender

As the world kept its eyes on the Papal race, many Catholics and Non-Catholics believed that Tagle could be the next pope. People even troop to social media to resurface his old videos of interacting with many faithfuls, and even his works in the church.

But Tagle said that he “tried to muster spiritual and human strength in order not to be affected.” This includes meditation on the words of apostolic constitution on “the grave duty incumbent on (the Cardinals) and thus on the need to act with right intention for the good of the Universal Church.”

Tagle also recalled the moment where all participating cardinals had to take an oath as they cast their ballots. The cardinal said that seeking the good of the church is not seeking for wins or losses.

“It is clear that there are no ‘candidates’ in the worldly sense of political elections, where a vote for one is a vote against another,” Tagle said.

The conclave experience

Tagle had participated in two Papal conclaves, one in 2013 where the late Pope Francis was elected and now in 2025 where Robert Francis Prevost was named as Pope Leo XIV.

READ: Cardinal Tagle on Pope Leo XIV: ‘Very human, humble, but discerning’

During the 2013 conclave, Tagle shared that he wondered why the cardinals had to wear choral attire during the election process.

“Then I learned and experienced that a conclave is a liturgical event–a time and space for prayer, for listening to God’s Word, the stirrings of the Holy Spirit, the groanings of the Church, humanity, and creation, for personal and communal purification of motivations, and for worship and adoration of God, whose will must reign supreme,” he added.

And at the recent conclave, he shared that he “silently prayed” for then-Cardinal Prevost whose reaction “alternated between smiling and breathing deeply” after he got the required number of votes.

Recalling his working relationship with the former cardinal, Tagle said that the new pope is “intellectually and culturally well-prepared, but without showing off.” /cb