Student pastor on conclave: “I hope for a young, fresh pope”
The doors of the Sixtine Chapel are hermetically closed, the election of the new pope has begun. According to student pastor Eugen Graas (66), contact person for Catholic students in Amsterdam, that should be a cardinal who can especially attract more people to the church. “Young people seek faith.”
All the cardinals are gathered. Starting today, they are locked in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City to elect a new pope. Several times a day, these 133 eligible cardinals will hand in their ballots. They do so, intermittently, until one of them gets a two-thirds majority. In past elections, white smoke followed from a chimney on the chapel after only a few days. Immediately they present the new pope to the world: “Habemus papam,” we have a pope.
Student pastor Eugen Graas has been appointed by the bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam to mentor Catholic youth in Amsterdam. His Catholic student WhatsApp group has as many as 250 members. The Amsterdam pastor would therefore prefer to see a pope come out in the announcement who can attract (unbelieving) young people to the church. “Especially in these times, when young people are looking for places for meaning, I notice that they seek a faith.”
Latin America, Africa or Asia
Pastor and priest Graas, attached to the Church of Our Lady on Keizersgracht, thus also hopes for a pope in an area where many people can still be persuaded to join the Catholic Church. "So from Latin America, Africa or Asia.”
Vatican experts see a good chance for the more progressive Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle, who is especially in line with Francis on aid to the poor and LGBT rights. That cardinal is also Graas’ favourite. “He is smooth. You see him on videos singing John Lennon’s Imagine, for example, he’s relatively young and he already has a lot of experience evangelizing - conveying Catholicism to non-believers - young and old.”
Indeed, the student pastor sees that faith has been picking up in recent years, especially in Amsterdam where Catholicism is the second largest religion after Islam. In a 2023 measurement by the Central Bureau of Statistics, 8 percent of residents, or about 90,000 Amsterdammers, were Catholic. That is almost 10,000 more Catholic Amsterdammers than in a 2012 measurement.
“This growth is because many foreign students come here, but also because more and more Dutch young people are converting,” says Graas. “Last year at our church at Easter alone we had four adult baptisms, which is a growing number lately.”
“That’s because a lot of foreign students come here, but also because more and more Dutch young people are converting,” Graas said. “Last year at our church at Easter alone we had four adult baptisms, which is a growing number lately.”
So UvA-alumnus Graas doesn’t think it’s a good idea for a younger face of the church to go for a traditional, European candidate again. Moderate Italian Pietro Parolin, a connector between the group around the late Pope Francis and the more conservative circle, appears in most of the ranks as the biggest contender. Graas: “That’s a cardinal who has been running around Vatican City for years in various positions. Parolin has more of a civil service mentality. That’s not going to draw (young) people to the faith.”
In addition, Graas does not necessarily prefer a Dutchman in the papal seat. The rather conservative Archbishop of Utrecht, UvA alumnus Wim Eijk, is the only Dutch cardinal . Eijk is among the top ten contenders, according to some bookmakers. “But,” says Graas, “I met him a few weeks back in Amsterdam. He has difficulty walking and is no longer the youngest.”
However, grief over the death of Pope Francis two weeks ago was visible among his young group. “He was seen by almost everyone as a very sympathetic and good pope. Still, there are some students who, mainly from the mindset of the country they come from, would like to see the pope take a much more conservative line. Graas: "Young people tend to think in black and white anyway. There are some students who think, for example, that the form of the Mass has been renewed too much.”
Yet Graas, like his students, is not so concerned with the analyses, odds or politics of which cardinal ultimately walks out of the conclave as pope. “Ultimately, I have faith that the Holy Spirit will descend on the cardinals as they vote. In doing so, my student group and I can only pray for wisdom.”
