One of the cardinal electors who has been widely speculated as one of the most likely successors to the Chair of St. Peter spoke with the press on Tuesday regarding what he believes should be the “defining characteristic” of the future pontiff. (RELATED: Early Indications of Cardinals’ Priorities Begin to Emerge)
That characteristic? Holiness.
“I always say, we need what the world cannot give us: holiness,” said Swedish Cardinal Anders Arborelius. “Of course,” he continued, “that means so much, but if we put it into one word, I would say that the world can give us so much, but it cannot give us God’s holiness.” Arborelius’s comments came in an interview with OSV News.
The archbishop of Stockholm elaborated: “That’s what people really need in a time like this — that we find someone who can help them be freed from sin, from hatred, from violence, to bring about reconciliation and a deeper encounter.”
If you were looking for a cardinal with a reputation for holiness, you would perhaps look first to Arborelius himself. Arborelius, 75, is a member of the Order of the Discalced Carmelite Fathers, and he recently stated that he had arranged with Pope Francis that he would soon be able to resign from his role as bishop of Stockholm and return to Norraby Carmelite Monastery, which is located near Rydebäck, Sweden. “So now I’m hanging a little loose,” he told the Swedish media outlet Sveriges Television following the pope’s death. Arborelius previously spent 27 years living in a monastery.
Arborelius has been discussed as one of the most likely men to be elected as the next pope by both the New York Times and France’s Le Figaro, but he has repeatedly shut down this speculation.
In an interview with OSV News in 2024, he came across as baffled and exasperated by the chatter: “I was very stupefied, and of course, it’s always a bit annoying when they start … Here in Sweden, people always love [saying], ‘Oh, you’re the next pope.’ So it’s a bit annoying but I tried to calm them down in a sense because it’s part of the business that people speculate about that.” In that same interview, Arborelius expressed hope that he would soon be able to “return to contemplative life.”
Arborelius is distinguished by his ability to speak many languages. He speaks English at a native level (somewhat of a rarity among the cardinals), his native Swedish, Italian, Spanish, French, Dutch, and German.
In 2020, Arborelius published an English-language book, Carmelite Spirituality: The Way of Carmelite Prayer and Contemplation. The book showcases Arborelius’s rich spirituality, as he calls on his readers to enter into a deep prayer life with the Lord. In the book, he writes: “We have to adore Him with our entire being. Our poor little thoughts can never grasp Him, but our heart has an enormous capacity to come close to Him and be united with Him.” This life of prayer, Arborelius asserts in the book, should never cease. “Every Christian,” he writes, “is invited to live in a constant union of love with Christ and, thus, in constant prayer.”
Cardinal Arborelius’s book suggests that, if elected pope, his primary goal would be to ignite a spiritual renewal.
In his role as bishop of Stockholm, a position he has held since 1998, Arborelius has drawn respect for his strong pastoral leadership, particularly for how he has united believers of the various ethnic groups that make up Sweden’s Catholic population; his fidelity to Church teaching; and his reputation as a man of prayer.
In his interview on Tuesday with OSV News, Arborelius listed several other qualities that the future pontiff should have. He called for “someone with a conscience,” saying, “If we want to have a world with peace and justice, we need someone to guide us.” Arborelius further stated that Catholics “want to see that aspect of mercy, love, concern and interest in people; that [the pope] is concerned about and wants to meet people.”
Arborelius also warned against ideological division or politicizing the college of cardinals. It is dangerous, he asserted, for Catholics to “always have political glasses on when they look upon the church and want a pope who follows their own political agenda.”
Cardinal Arborelius is not the only cardinal calling for a holy pope. On Tuesday, Cardinal John Ribat of Papua New Guinea, age 68, told reporters that seeking a holy pope should be a top priority. “Personal holiness is very important for the next pope,” Ribat said. He also stated that the next pope should be a man who can unite Catholics: “He must be someone open and controlling — not in a bad way, but in a way that keeps us all together, journeying together in unity.”
While Cardinal Arborelius is publicly calling for a holy pontiff, it is unlikely, given his stated desire to return to contemplative life in his monastery, that he will put forward himself as someone who meets that criterion. Moreover, he seems to be one of the less likely candidates among the speculated-upon papabili, given the smallness of his flock in Sweden and his less-assertive nature.
But I would suggest that Cardinal Arborelius offers a timely reminder of the Church’s spiritual nature — wisdom, especially relevant as the College of Cardinals seeks the guidance of the Holy Spirit in choosing the next pope. “[M]any Christians,” he writes in Carmelite Spirituality, “have lost this mystical insight into the true reality of the Church. They tend to look upon the Church as they would look upon any other human organization and, thus, forget that the Church is always a mystery of love, the Bride of Christ.”
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