Ka cika wannan jumla: Bayan Paparoma John Paul II ya mutu a ranar 2 ga Afrilu 2005, Bergoglio ya halarci jana'izarsa kuma an ɗauke shi ɗaya daga cikin "papabile" don maye gurbin papacy. Ya shiga a matsayin mai za ~ e na Cardinal a cikin
Babban taron papal na 2005 wanda ya zabi Paparoma Benedict XVI. A cikin "Mai ba da rahoto na Katolika na Kasa", John L. Allen Jr. ya ba da rahoton cewa Bergoglio ya kasance a gaba a cikin taron na 2005. A watan Satumbar 2005, mujallar Italiyanci "Limes" ta buga da'awar cewa Bergoglio ya kasance dan takara kuma babban mai kalubalantar Cardinal Ratzinger a wannan taron kuma ya sami kuri'u 40 a zagaye na uku, amma ya koma 26 a zagaye na huɗu da yanke hukunci. Da'awar ta dogara ne a kan wani littafin da aka ce na wani babban limami ne da ba a ambata sunansa ba wanda ya halarci taron. A cewar dan jaridar Italiya Andrea Tornielli, wannan adadin kuri'un ba shi da misali ga "papabile" na Latin Amurka. "La Stampa" ta ba da rahoton cewa Bergoglio yana cikin rikici da Ratzinger a lokacin zaben, har sai da ya yi roƙo na motsin rai cewa 'yan Cardinals kada su zabe shi. A cewar Tornielli, Bergoglio ya yi wannan roƙon ne don kada taron ya daɗe sosai a zaɓan fafaroma.