Just days before the start of the conclave, where the successor of Pope Francis will be announced, a theft has been reported. Italian media outlets inform that French Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, one of the potential papal candidates, has been robbed.
It was a bag containing the cardinal's personal belongings. The theft occurred several days ago, and the parish priest of the Church of Madonna dei Monti in Rome, Francesco Pesce, reported the incident. Cardinal Aveline officiated a mass at the same church last Sunday. Three days after the theft, the bag was found near the church. It has not been disclosed what happened to its contents.
Who is Cardinal Aveline?
Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, 66 years old and born in Algeria, emerges as a key figure in French Catholicism, with roots marked by his family's immigration from Almeria to Marseille. His closeness to Pope Francis, who even joked about his possible succession as "John XXIV," and his recent appointment as president of the French Episcopal Conference, position him as a potential candidate for the papacy, although his lack of knowledge of Italian could be an obstacle in the conclave.
Since his arrival at the Vatican after the Pope's death, Aveline has stood out for his homilies praising Pope Francis' papacy and his spirit of dialogue, especially with Islam, invoking the Vatican II Council and asking for prayers for the election of a successor who will continue his legacy. The cardinal has recalled his humble origins and his Andalusian family's migration experience, emphasizing his commitment to the marginalized and his alignment with the deceased pontiff's progressive stance, advocating for a "third way" of proximity and harmony in the immigration debate.