Leave it to the ingenuity of the faithful to come up with fun ways to participate in the upcoming Conclave and selection of a Pope. New ideas range from adopting a Cardinal to playing “Fantasy Conclave” in which participants try to guess who the next pope will be.

According to Star Quest Production Network (SQPN), a multimedia organization specializing in the production of audio and video programs faithful to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, more than 62,000 people have already signed up to “Adopt a Cardinal“.  With just the click of a mouse, one can register to pray for a Cardinal who is automatically assigned in order to make sure every Cardinal is prayed for during the critical process of selecting a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.

The initiative came from a German group named Jugend 2000, which means Youth 2000, which is recognized by the Church in Germany and focuses on helping young people to participate in the New Evangelization.

Another initiative puts a little fun into the process. The idea of Josh Simmons, CEO of eCatholic.com, the largest provider of Catholic websites in the country, and Catholic writer Michael Marchand, Fantasy Conclave is a contest where participants can win a $300 prize for correctly predicting who the next Pope will be. Participants can also predict what name the new pope will choose and on which day of the Conclave he will be elected. Whoever is closest to guessing wins the prize.

But this isn’t just a contest. Particpiants are automatically signed up to receive a newsletter which gives all kinds of interesting information about the Conclave process and the workings of the Papacy. So along with a little fun comes some serious learning.

Both programs offer the faithful creative – and prayerful – ways to participate in this quintessential moment in Church history!

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