What is a conclave? A guide to what happens after death of Pope Francis – National
Sealing the pope’s apartment. A gathering of cardinals. White smoke and bells rung. These are just some of the events that take place once a pontiff has died and while a new pope is chosen.
It’s all part of a long history of tradition dictating what happens now following the death of Pope Francis on Monday.
Pope Francis died at the age of 88, the Vatican confirmed to the public on Monday, capping the end of a tenure seen by some as one of the more progressive in the Roman Catholic Church.
The Pope died following health challenges over recent months, including hospitalization several weeks ago for pneumonia and a complex lung infection, which required high levels of oxygen and blood transfusions.
The immediate next steps dictate that when a pope dies, the camerlengo, or chamberlain — currently Irish-born American cardinal Kevin Farrell — must certify the death and seal the papal apartment with red ribbon and seals.
The dean of the College of Cardinals then summons the members for the funeral, presiding at a funeral mass — and with Pope Francis, some of those will look different than in the past.
“Pope Francis has made some unique and in some ways, streamed down and non-traditional decisions just like he did unique, non-traditional things during his papacy,” Emma Anderson, a classics and religious studies professor at the University of Ottawa, said in an interview.
Among those “unique” decisions was not to be buried where most pontiffs have been, beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, instead choosing to be buried in St. Mary Major Basilica, where his favourite icon of the Virgin Mary, the Salus Populi Romani, is located.
According to the basilica’s website, the Holy Crib is also located here, which contains five pieces of sycamore wood said to have been part of the crib upon which Baby Jesus was laid.
Following Francis’s death, his coffin will be transferred to St. Peter’s for public viewing before the funeral mass and burial. The interment must take place between the fourth and sixth day after his death.
Nine days of official mourning, known as the “novendiali,” must then take place.
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During that time, the cardinals arrive in Rome for a conclave.
A conclave is the formal, secret gathering where cardinals gather to elect the next pope.
The conclave must begin 15 to 20 days following the “sede vacante,” also known as the “vacant See” when the pope dies, though it can occur earlier if cardinals agree.
While it is the College of Cardinals that elects the pope, of the 252 current cardinals, just 135 meet a cutoff of being 80 years of age or younger, according to statistics provided by the Vatican press office.
Of those 135, a total of 108 were directly appointed by Francis, with the remainder named by the late Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II.
Those who don’t meet the cutoff can still contribute in the various congregations prior to the conclave, and can also be elected pope even though they’re not part of the conclave.
But when the conclave begins, the 135 cardinals are locked away within the Vatican until they elect the new pontiff.
“It’s one of the best examples of direct democracy we have,” Anderson said.
“Every vote counts and the votes are done after prayers are made and of course, the whole conclave is supposed to be under the kind of aegis of the Holy Spirit, it’s supposed to God, kind of through the Holy Spirit guiding the church to pick the best candidate.”
The cardinals must take an oath of secrecy, declaring they’re aware they could be excommunicated if they reveal anything that takes place during the conclave.
The first vote typically occurs in the afternoon in the Sistine Chapel after the initial mass, but if no pope is elected, two ballots will be held in the morning and two in the afternoon daily until a pontiff is chosen.
A day’s break is taken if no one is named after the third day of votes.
“There’s prayer, there’s discernment, there’s conversation, there’s discussion and then they take a vote,” said Reid Locklin, associate professor of Christianity and culture at St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.
Three cardinals check each ballot to ensure it’s filled out correctly and read out each name to be counted, with results then announced.
A two-thirds vote is needed and if not achieved, the ballots are then pierced with a needle and thread, which is then knotted and placed on a tray and another round of voting is prepared.
At the end of each voting session, the pierced ballots are burned in a cylindrical stove with chemical cartridges added to ensure the colour of the smoke.
If black smoke pipes out of the Sistine Chapel’s chimney, no pope has been chosen, but if white smoke billows forth, there is a new pontiff.
He is introduced from the loggia overlooking St. Peter’s Square with the words “Habemus papam,” which means “We have a pope,” who then emerges to give his first blessing.
Who could be the new pope?
While the conclave is held in complete secrecy, there has been speculation about who could be named the next pontiff.
With Francis having named 108 of the cardinals voting, it is possible the next pope could hold similar values to his.
There’s also the possibility that just as political change has taken place in democracies around the world over recent years, it could in the conclave as well.
“I think the cardinals have to be thinking that they’re electing a pope who’s going to be pope in a new political world,” Locklin said.
“They might be looking for a steady hand. They might be looking for a prophetic voice…. You kind of imagine that it’s going to be part of what they’re looking at is the world and saying, ‘Who’s the pope that the world needs right now and we’ve got to try our best,’ knowing that it is the Holy Spirit ultimately that will make the judgment but who can do that work.”
Though any baptized Roman Catholic male is eligible, only cardinals have been selected.
According to The Associated Press, cardinals Pietro Parolin and Matteo Zuppi of Italy, Marc Ouellet of Canada, Christoph Schoenborn of Austria and Luis Tagle are among those who could be named.
— with files from The Associated Press
