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ROME (OSV News) — The College of Cardinals preparing to elect a new pope includes a visible group of Generation X and millennial electors — leaders shaped not just by the Second Vatican Council but by globalization, digital media and a rapidly changing world.
Several cardinals under the age of 60, including some born in the 1970s and 1980s, are bringing new pastoral and communicative sensibilities to the conclave. Among them are Italian Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, a 50-year-old missionary in Mongolia; Portuguese Cardinal Américo Aguiar, 51, who led World Youth Day Lisbon; and Cardinal Mykola Bychok, 45, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishop serving in Australia.
There are at least 15 cardinals who were born after 1965 — the year Vatican II ended — and the beginning of Generation X.
Social Media ‘Influencers’
“Many cardinals today are not just church leaders or newsmakers — they are also content creators, influencers on social media,” said Gustavo Entrala, the Spanish communications expert who helped launch Pope Benedict XVI’s Twitter account. “Compared to 2013, there has been a major cultural shift: Many figures in the church now share extensively online, making it possible to scrutinize what they have said or written across social platforms.”
But the shift isn’t just generational — it’s technological. Many prelates now share updates directly on social media, often without a communications manager curating the content. Cardinal Aguiar posted a selfie with Cardinals Marengo and Bychok, taken in St. Peter’s Basilica, that briefly “broke” Catholic social media on Pope’s Francis’ funeral day April 26. Japanese Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo, who heads Caritas Internationalis, posted on Facebook a bus selfie with fellow cardinals en route to pray at St. Mary Major.
These new forms of engagement show a College of Cardinals increasingly fluent in social media — raising new questions about transparency, discretion and the evolving role of cardinals in the digital age.
Posting Conclave Date on X
Singapore’s only red hat, Cardinal William Goh, born in 1957, posted on X the conclave date only minutes after the Vatican spokesperson had confirmed it, noted that the cardinals are meeting daily in general congregations, and shared, in very general terms, what is happening.
“Hence, it is urgent and important that you all pray for us so that we can discern what kind of Pope the Church needs in this present day, because every Pope brings with himself his own charisms,” he posted. “Please pray that we will choose the right candidate to be the successor of St. Peter to lead the Church in this complex world.”
The same message was also shared on his Telegram channel.
Caught Between Canon Law, Smell of the Sheep
Pope Francis was a strong advocate for clergy to stay close to their flock. Many prelates have found that social media, “the digital continent,” offers one more way to leave the sacristy and be part of a church that “goes out,” as the late Argentine pontiff liked to say.
While the church’s legal norms demand strict secrecy during the conclave, the broader challenge posed by the digital age is not merely legal but deeply spiritual.
As Giovanni Tridente, journalist and professor at Rome’s Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, observed, communication today touches not only techniques but the heart of pastoral life. For many cardinals, communication is no longer merely an option — it has become a space where proximity to the people of God is expressed.
“It is not simply a matter of technique, but of pastoral style,” Tridente said. Some cardinals maintain a living bond with their communities through small, thoughtful gestures: a carefully chosen word, a measured public sign, a shared photo. Others, however, prefer complete discretion. “Both paths deserve respect,” he added.
Safeguarding the Essential
Yet, Tridente noted, the real challenge lies elsewhere: how to safeguard the essential when everything around demands visibility, immediacy and storytelling?
“The conclave has always been a different kind of time,” he said. “It is not about isolating oneself from the world, but about setting it aside for a moment in order to look inward with greater clarity and freedom.” In this sense, he suggests, silence itself can become a profound form of communication.
“There is a real tension between the pastoral closeness many cardinals show online and the radical discretion that a conclave demands,” Entrala said.
“In 2013, American cardinals were holding daily press briefings before the conclave until they were ordered to stop. We are seeing a historical echo of that now, as the camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, has requested cardinals not to speak publicly. It will be interesting to see how they manage their phones.”
Ensuring Vatican Runs Smoothly
The camerlengo is responsible for verifying the pope’s death, overseeing preparations for the conclave and ensuring the smooth running of the Vatican during the “sede vacante.”
Even a traditionally private event like the conclave is now exposed to a constant flow of images, voices and analyses — the mark of an era shaped by disintermediation, social media and artificial intelligence.
“People are consuming content as never before, and due to Pope Francis, the Vatican is generating even more interest now than in 2013, following the historical resignation of Pope Benedict XVI,” Entrala said.
“And the more we know about the reality that surrounds us, the more engaged with it we want to be.”
A Reality that ‘Connects, Informs’
This reality, Tridente argued, “is one that connects and informs, but that often overwhelms and distracts as well.” In this context, many cardinals, who may know little of each other beforehand, are inevitably influenced by fragmented narratives, preconceived perceptions and external pressures.
Precisely for this reason, Tridente told OSV News, Pope Francis’ invitation to “slow the pace” and create spaces for silence, listening and discernment becomes even more urgent.
“Faced with the excess,” he added, “we, too, can do our part.” One simple but essential response is prayer: “Praying for the cardinals in these days is a concrete way to accompany them, entrusting to the Holy Spirit what we cannot foresee or control, and trusting in their spiritual intelligence, interior freedom, and sense of responsibility — so that they may choose what truly serves the church and humanity.”
Secrecy Serves Canonical Purposes
Canon law expert Kurt Martens, a professor at The Catholic University of America in Washington, emphasized that secrecy around the conclave is not simply a matter of tradition, but serves a crucial canonical and pastoral purpose: safeguarding the liberty of the cardinals.
“We are drawn to the drama of secrecy — some of it encouraged by novels like Dan Brown’s — but secrecy, and all the rules that surround it, have an important role to play,” Martens told OSV News.
“At all times, the goal is to protect the freedom of the cardinals from outside pressure.”
‘Universi Dominici Gregis’
He recalled how, after a political veto influenced the 1903 conclave, Pope Pius X revised the law to excommunicate anyone attempting to interfere in a papal election — a principle expanded by St. John Paul II to prohibit all outside influence, including that of groups or movements, under “Universi Dominici Gregis” (“Shepherd of the Lord’s Whole Flock”).
Today, Martens noted, social media presents new challenges. “In 2013, social media was already present, but now it is far more pervasive,” he said. “Some cardinals miss opportunity after opportunity to remain silent and avoid influencing the conclave.”
Public posts, comments, and speculation, even outside the Sistine Chapel, risk undermining the very spirit of secrecy that canon law seeks to protect.
“Social media is a form of influence,” Martens warned.
“Talking publicly, even in subtle ways, risks violating ‘Universi Dominici Gregis.’ Fortunately, there are a number of cardinals who are staying very quiet, not revealing what they are thinking — and that is exactly what they should be doing.”
Ines San Martin writes for OSV News from Rome. She is vice president of communications at the Pontifical Mission Societies USA.
