0 votes in the third ballot, but fell back to 26 at the fourth and decisive ballot.[99][100] The claims

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in 2008
Later that year, when Cardinal Edward Egan returned to New York following the September 11 attacks, Bergoglio replaced him as relator (recording secretary) in the Synod of Bishops,[90] and, according to the Catholic Herald, created "a favourable impression as a man open to communion and dialogue".[91][92]
Cardinal Bergoglio became known for personal humility, doctrinal conservatism and a commitment to social justice.[93] A simple lifestyle contributed to his reputation for humility. He lived in a small apartment, rather than in the elegant bishop's residence in the suburb of Olivos. He took public transportation and cooked his own meals.[94] He limited his time in Rome to "lightning visits".[95] He was known to have a unique devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux, and he enclosed a small picture of her in the letters he wrote, calling her "a great missionary saint."[96]
On the death of Pope John Paul II, Bergoglio attended his funeral and was considered one of the papabile for succession to the papacy.[97] He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. In the National Catholic Reporter John L. Allen, Jr. reported that Bergoglio was a frontrunner in the 2005 conclave.[93][98] In September 2005, the Italian magazine Limes published claims that Bergoglio had been the runner-up and main challenger to Cardinal Ratzinger at that conclave and that he had received 40 votes in the third ballot, but fell back to 26 at the fourth and decisive ballot.[99][100] The claims were based on a diary purportedly belonging to an anonymous cardinal who had been present at the conclave.[99][101] According to Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli, this number of votes had no precedents for a Latin American papabile.[101] La Stampa reported that Bergoglio was in close contention with Ratzinger during the election, until he made an emotional plea that the cardinals should not vote for him.[102] According to Tornielli, Bergoglio made this request to prevent the conclave from delaying too much in the election of a pope.[103]
As a cardinal, Bergoglio was associated with Communion and Liberation, a Catholic evangelical lay movement of the type known as associations of the faithful.[93][104] He sometimes made appearances at the annual gathering known as the Rimini Meeting held during the late summer months in Italy.[93]
In 2005, Cardinal Bergoglio authorized the request for beatification—the first step towards sainthood—for six members of the Pallottine community murdered in 1976.[105][106] At the same time, Bergoglio ordered an investigation into the murders themselves, which had been widely blamed on the military regime that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983.[106]
Relations with Argentine governments