Cardinals ask for prayers before start of Conclave

Cardinals pray before the Blessed Sacrament in chapel near the New Synod Hall - Vatican Media

Source: Vatican Media

The College of Cardinals has requested that all Catholics pray for them, so that they may listen the Holy Spirit as they discern whom to choose as the next Pope.

The Holy See released a declaration on Wednesday in which the Cardinals preparing for the upcoming conclave ask the faithful to pray for them.

"The College of Cardinals gathered in Rome, engaged in the General Congregations in preparation for the Conclave, wishes to invite the People of God to live this ecclesial moment as an event of grace and spiritual discernment, listening to the will of God," read the statement.

The Cardinals said they feel "the need to be supported by the prayers of all the faithful," since they are aware of their responsibility in choosing the next Successor of Peter.

"Prayer is the true force that in the Church promotes the unity of all the members of the one Body of Christ."

"Faced with the enormity of the task ahead and the urgency of the present time," said the Cardinals, "it is first of all necessary to make ourselves humble instruments of the infinite wisdom and providence of our Heavenly Father, in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit."

The Cardinals noted that the Holy Spirit is "the protagonist of the life of the People of God, the One to whom we must listen, accepting what He is saying to the Church."

"May the Blessed Virgin Mary accompany these prayers with her maternal intercession," the Cardinals' declaration concludes.