“He continued to be considered by many cardinals, not only progressives, who were searching for a successor to John Paul II.”
Bergoglio and Joseph Ratzinger, who would soon become Benedict XVI, are said to have been in a two-horse race for the 2005 conclave to choose John Paul II’s successor.
Bergoglio won 40 votes on the third round, right before Ratzinger crossed the two-thirds mark and became pope.
According to a conclave journal that was allegedly authored by an anonymous cardinal and published in the Italian media.
In honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, Bergoglio was elected pope on March 13 after Benedict resigned in February 2013. He was given the papal name Francis.
