This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle is joined by guest host Ashley McKinless for an interview with Gerard O’Connell and his wife and journalist Elisabetta Piqué about their new book, “The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis.” They discuss pre-conclave maneuvering, including organized resistance to Pope Francis's reforms, as well as their decision to report conclave details despite Cardinals taking oaths of secrecy.

0:00 Breaking the secrecy of a conclave
8:10 A Vatican journalist and a war correspondent
12:04 Calculating the conclave vote tallies
15:09 Pressure campaigns and conclave maneuvering
22:17 How the cardinals choose a pope
30:10 What the cardinals think of Pope Leo so far
35:50 A touching personal story

Links:
The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis by Gerard O'Connell and Elisabetta Pique: https://orbisbooks.com/products/the-election-of-pope-leo-xiv-the-last-suprise-of-pope-francis
Excerpt: Behind the scenes of Pope Leo XIV’s election: https://www.americamagazine.org/features/2026/02/12/behind-the-scenes-of-pope-leo-xivs-election
Backer of Cardinal Parolin attacks Pope Francis’ push for lay involvement in church governance: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2025/04/30/attack-pope-francis-campaign-cardinal-parolin-250534
Los puntos débiles de Parolin, el favorito a ser el próximo papa, y el secreto a voces de su relación con Francisco: https://www.lanacion.com.ar/el-mundo/los-puntos-debiles-de-parolin-el-favorito-a-ser-el-proximo-papa-y-el-secreto-a-voces-de-su-relacion-nid29042025

Follow Gerry on X: @gerryorome
Follow Colleen on Instagram: @colleendulle

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