Arborelius is the first Swede ever to participate in the top-secret work of the conclave to choose a new pope.
Few had predicted that it would be this humble and modest person," writes the cardinal about American Robert Prevost, who was elected pope on Thursday.
Arborelius was also one of the candidates to become the new pope, says Peruvian journalist Pedro Salinas to Sveriges Radio.
The conservatives' candidate was Swede Arborelius.
He was considered a less polarizing person than the other conservative candidates who were deemed too extreme, says Salinas, who has good contacts within the Catholic Church. The conservative side lost, however – and Prevost was elected.
"For us who knew him a little closer, it was a great joy that he now became Leo XIV," writes Arborelius in a statement on the Catholic Church's website.
"Many reacted to us getting an American pope for the first time. At the same time, he has lived and worked more in Peru than in his home country. His family has an immigrant background, just like his birthplace Chicago."
He also seems to make a comparison with the US President Donald Trump, who just over a week ago shared an AI-image of himself as pope.
"It's hard to imagine anyone who in their character is more unlike him, than another American who has pretended and made a fool of himself to become pope," says Arborelius.
A cardinal is the second-highest position within the Catholic Church after the pope, and cardinals retain their title for life.
