Of the four Brazilian cardinals eligible to vote in the college which will choose Pope John Paul II’s successor, only one is already in Rome, while the others are getting ready to go.
Don José Freire Falcão, archbishop of Brasília, was in Jerusalem when the Pope died and went directly to the Vatican. Don Eusébio Oscar Scheid, archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, will leave on Thursday (7).
Don Gerlado Majella, archbishop of Salvador and president of the Brazilian National Conference of Bishops (CNBB) travels to Rome today.
The only cardinal who has yet to set a travel date is Don Cláudio Hummes, archbishop of São Paulo. He is in almost every list of papabili.
According to his secretary, he is recovering from a bad case of the flu and hopes to get better to be able to leave as soon as possible.
The Brazilian cardinals will attend John Paul II’s funeral ceremony on Friday (8) and will participate in the conclave to choose the new Pope. The conclave will get underway in 15-20 days.
ABr