Cardinal Prevost put his head in his hands as papacy loomed

By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - As U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost realized during the secret conclave that he might be elected the next Catholic pope, he put his head in his hands at the daunting prospect of leading the 1.4-billion-member Church, a cardinal said on Friday.

New Jersey Cardinal Joseph Tobin, one of the other 132 clerics locked inside the Sistine Chapel with Prevost for the conclave, said he looked at the future pope during one of the last ballots.

"I took a look at Bob, because his name had been floating around and he had his head in his hands," Tobin said, using Prevost's nickname.

"I was praying for him, because I couldn't imagine what happens to a human being when you're facing something like that."

"And then when he accepted, it was like he was made for it," said Tobin.

"Whatever anguish was resolved. I think … God had made something clear and he agreed with it."

Tobin was speaking at a press conference with six other cardinals, in their first public comments since the election of Prevost as Pope Leo XIV on Thursday evening.

Leo, a largely unknown figure on the world stage, is a former U.S. missionary in Peru who was a senior Vatican official for the past two years.

The cardinals offered small insights into the secretive conclave process and even joked about the food. New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan called it a "good, good, good, good impetus to get this over with."

They also speculated about how Leo, the first U.S. pope, might engage with President Donald Trump.

Dolan said he did not think Prevost's nationality "had much weight" in the cardinals' decision.

"It should not startle us that we should look to Pope Leo as a bridge builder," said Dolan.

"Will he want to build bridges with Donald Trump? I suppose. But he will want to build bridges with the leader of every nation."

The late Pope Francis was a sharp critic of Trump, saying earlier this year that the president's plan to deport millions of migrants in the U.S. was a "disgrace".

Asked whether Leo will act like Francis and openly criticize the Trump administration's policies, the cardinals demurred.

"We were looking for someone following the pathway of Francis, but we were not looking for a photocopy," said Washington, D.C. Cardinal Robert McElroy.

Cardinal Wilton Gregory, McElroy's now retired predecessor in Washington, said it was important to give Leo "space to grow into the office." Gregory added a joke: "He's never been pope before."

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Keith Weir)