The serious and secretive business of choosing a pope

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The serious and secretive business of choosing a pope

WHO TAKES PART IN THE CONCLAVE?

Only cardinals aged under 80 when a pope dies can take part in a conclave. There were 135 cardinals who met that requirement when Pope Francis died in April but two have said they will not take part.

The cardinal electors come from 70 countries, against 48 in 2013 when Pope Francis was elected. Italians make up the biggest single national bloc, with 19 cardinals, against 10 from the United States and seven from Brazil. In all, there are 52 cardinal electors considered from Europe, 23 from Asia, 17 from Africa, 17 from South America, 16 from North America, four from Central America and four from Oceania.

WHERE DOES THE CONCLAVE TAKE PLACE?

The cardinals hold their election in the Sistine Chapel. Most participating cardinals sleep in a ******** hotel near the chapel. They will be banned from communicating with the outside world.

HOW DOES THE BALLOT WORK?

Except for the first day, when only one ballot is held, the cardinals hold two daily balloting sessions – two in the morning and in the afternoon – until a candidate has a majority of “at least” two-thirds of cardinals. All participants are sworn to secrecy about the voting.

HOW LONG DOES A CONCLAVE LAST?

Modern papal conclaves are typically short. The average length of the last 10 conclaves was 3.2 days and none went on for more than five.

The 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis lasted two days, as did the 2005 conclave for Pope Benedict XVI.

The longest papal election was the conclave of 1268-1271 in Viterbo, Italy. It lasted for two years, nine months and two days before Pope Gregory X was elected. He later established that in future elections, cardinals should be locked away in seclusion – “**** clave” – to focus on their task.

The 1503 conclave that elected Pope Julius II is often cited as one of the shortest, taking only a few hours.

WHAT DOES THE SMOKE SIGNIFY?

Cardinals cast their votes on papers that are gathered and burned at the end of the morning and afternoon sessions, with smoke pouring from a makeshift chimney above the Sistine Chapel.

****** smoke indicates inconclusive votes, while white smoke tells the world that a pope has been chosen. The great bell of St Peter’s Basilica will ring out on election of a new pope.

The smoke signals are expected about noon and 7pm each voting day. However, smoke could emerge earlier if the new pontiff is elected in the first ballot of one of the sessions.

HOW IS THE NEW POPE ANNOUNCED?

After a pope is chosen, a senior cardinal appears on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica and announces in Latin: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus Papam” (“I announce to you great joy. We have a pope”). He identifies the new pope by his given name, with his first name translated into Latin, and then his papal name, also in Latin.

The most common papal names are John (23 times), Gregory (16), Benedict (16), Clement (14), Innocent (13), Leo (13) and Pius (12). Pope Francis was the first to choose that name, in honour of St Francis of Assisi.

The new pope delivers his first public address and his first “Urbi et Orbi” (To the City and the World) blessing in front of the crowd in St Peter’s Square.

A few days later, the new pope will celebrate a mass that marks the beginning of his ministry.

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