He was a contender. His name was mentioned as papabile. I am talking about Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonca, from Portugal. He is a poet and writes under the name of Jose Tolentino Mendonca. He is a priest. Here is one of his poems.
Eschatology
And, at last, God returns
full of intimacy and unexpectedness
contemplated already from centuries above
humble measure of a verbal silence
we thought destined to be lost
See God climbing the steep path
that we have paced a thousand times
and stop to wait without impatience
meek as a sick lamb
Which one of us is the other’s shadow?
Even if no pity preserves the maps
we’ll come down close behind
rampant and empty
like a tree trunk
© Translated by Ana Hudson, 2012
