“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, they added, “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,” concluded the Cardinals’ declaration.

Cardinals discuss economic situation of the Holy See 

The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told reporters on Wednesday, April 30, that 180 Cardinals attended the seventh General Congregation, of whom 124 were Cardinal electors.

In the first part of the meeting, the Cardinals discussed the economic and financial situation of the Holy See, with contributions from Cardinals Reinhard Marx, Kevin Farrell, Christoph Schönborn, Fernando Vergez, and Konrad Krajewski.

Cardinal Marx, coordinator of the Council for the Economy, presented several challenges, issues, and proposals from the perspective of sustainability, with the goal that the economic structures continue to support the reforms of the papacy.

Cardinal Schönborn spoke as president of the IOR Oversight Commission, and Cardinal Vergez shared several details regarding the situation of the Governorate of Vatican City State, mentioning the ongoing renovation work.

Cardinal Krajewski spoke about the activities of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity.

In the second part of the General Congregation, 14 Cardinals intervened on various topics, including the ecclesiology of the people of God and the wound caused by polarization within the Church and the division in society, synodality and episcopal collegiality as a way to overcome polarization, and vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Several references were made to the conciliar texts Lumen Gentium and Gaudium et Spes, and they discussed evangelization, especially focusing on the consistency between what is lived and what is proclaimed.

The General Congregation concluded at 12:30pm with the prayer of the Regina Coeli.