Vatican City, Feb 25, 2013 / 04:31 am
The Vatican Secretary of State has written to the world's nuns and monks to ask for their prayers for the conclave to elect his successor
"The Holy Father is certain that you, in your monasteries and convents throughout the world, will provide the precious resource of that prayerful faith which down the centuries has accompanied and sustained the Church along her pilgrim path," Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's Feb. 21 letter says.
"The coming conclave," Cardinal Bertone emphasizes, "will thus depend in a special way on the transparent purity of your prayer and worship."
As secretary of state, Cardinal Bertone will serve as the "Camerlengo." He will be in charge of seeing that the daily administrative tasks of running the Church are taken care of, as well as the one who oversees the conclave.