Rome waits in the sunshine for a new era to begin. Pope Francis has died. His successor on the throne of Peter is to be chosen following a conclave starting Wednesday, May 7. Regardless of who it is and what they do with Jorge Mario Bergoglio's legacy, one of the cardinals already gathered at the Vatican will reign over the Catholic Church in a world that is no longer the one where the late pope left his mark. The beginning of Donald Trump's second term in the White House has ushered in a new era based on power dynamics, paving the way for a hard and triumphant right wing.

From his headquarters, which have been set up since 1973 within the walls of a former Carmelite convent in Trastevere, in a square with pastel facades that is frequented by clusters of tourists and guarded by a military vehicle, Andrea Riccardi, 75, appears concerned. Founder of the influential international Catholic movement Sant'Egidio, historian of the Church, former minister, and presented by the center left during the Italian presidential election in 2022 as having the "ideal profile" for the highest office, the man known as "the professor" was also close to Francis.

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