Medina was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave. Following the conclusion of the conclave, as Cardinal Protodeacon (the senior-most cardinal deacon), he announced to the world the election of Pope Benedict XVI. He was the first non-Italian to do so in centuries and the first Latin American. As protodeacon, Medina imposed the pallium on Pope Benedict XVI and was one of the three cardinals who made the public act of obedience to the new pope at the papal inauguration.