Conclave prayer campaign for cardinals seeks to put 'faith into action'

(OSV News) -- Ahead of the May 7 start of the papal conclave, the Pontifical Missions Societies USA is inviting faithful to pray -- not only for the assembly as a whole, but for a specific cardinal elector who will help to choose the next successor of St. Peter, following Pope Francis' death April 21 at the age of 88.

"As Catholics, we believe in the transformative power of prayer, and now is the moment to put that faith into action," said Msgr. Roger Landry, the societies' national director, in an April 28 statement announcing the launch of the campaign, which will continue until the election of the new pope.

Participants can enroll by visiting the societies' website at pontificalmissions.org and entering their email address to learn which cardinal they've been assigned to pray for.

On the submission confirmation page, an image of a given cardinal appears, with his name, birthday and birthplace displayed, along with the short prayer: "Heavenly Father, guide the cardinals in wisdom and love as they may lead your Church. May your will be their compass. Amen."

On April 28, the Vatican announced the start date of the conclave, which will see 135 cardinal electors -- those eligible to vote for the next pontiff -- begin their deliberations May 7 with a "Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff" in St. Peter's Basilica. That evening, the group will process into the Sistine Chapel, where they will begin voting under strict seclusion.

The progress of the conclave will be publicly indicated by the burning of the ballots, with white smoke indicating a new pope has been selected, and black smoke signaling the need for another vote.

In his statement, Msgr. Landry described the pope as the Catholic Church's "chief missionary, the one who leads us to the peripheries of the world to share the Gospel."

"We now pray together for someone to lead the Church's worldwide fishing expedition that began when Jesus told St. Peter he was making him a fisher of men," said Msgr. Landry.

The Pontifical Missions Societies' worldwide network, which operates at the service of the pope, consists of four mission societies designated as pontifical by Pope Pius XI in 1922.

The Society of the Propagation of the Faith supports the evangelization efforts of the local church; the Missionary Childhood Association educates children about their role in the church's missionary outreach; the Society of St. Peter the Apostle trains the next generation of missionary clergy and consecrated religious; and the Missionary Union focuses on forming clergy, religious and pastoral leaders more deeply in their role as evangelizers.