The election of a new pope following the vacancy of the See of St. Peter is a ritual steeped in hundreds of years of tradition. While today, popes are elected by a conclave, or gathering, of cardinals, that's not how it's always been done. Jesus Christ picked St. Peter himself. Some popes were hand-picked as the successor of the pope before them. Others were chosen by acclamation of the people of Rome and still others by secular powers: emperors, kings and the like.
But for the last 739 years, whenever there has been a vacancy in the papacy, the College of Cardinals have gathered in a "conclave" to elect a new pope from among their number. But what exactly happens? The current rules for what happens when the pope dies or, in the most recent case, when a pope renounces the apostolic ministry of the Successor of St. Peter, were set down in the 1996 Apostolic Constitution *Universi Dominici Gregis* (*The Lord’s Universal Flock*), promulgated by Pope John Paul II and since slightly modified by Pope Benedict XVI. Those rules, however, generally follow the ancient tradition with slight modifications to accommodate the modern age.
The election of a new pope consists of three phases.
Phase One
This phase usually begins with the death of the pope, but in this case will start when the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI takes effect at 8pm Rome time on February 28 in accord with Canon 332 §2 of the Code of Canon Law. At that moment, the Church enters a *Sede Vacante*, or a vacancy in the Holy See. It is also called an *interregnum*, which comes Latin words meaning "between rulers". This period last until the election of the next Holy Father.
In the current situation, Pope Benedict will leave the Apostolic Palace and move to Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence in the hills outside Rome, until renovations are completed on a monastery on the grounds of the Vatican where the Holy Father has decided to live a private life of contemplative prayer. He will have no role in the conclave that elects his successor.
In the event of the death of a pope, this phase would start with the *camerlengo* ("chamberlain"), the cardinal who will be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Vatican itself, officially declaring, "the Pope is dead" in the presence of ecclesial witnesses. At this time, the *camerlengo* is Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State to the Holy See. At this point, the heads of most offices within the Roman Curia lose their authority because all of their authority derives from the Office of the Supreme Pontiff. In practice, all of the most important work of the Vatican stops and all decisions of import are postponed until the new Pope takes office.
The *camerlengo* now undertakes a series of important tasks. First, he destroys the papal ring, a tradition that was established to prevent forgeries of important official documents. He then officially announces the *sede vacante* to the Dean of the College of Cardinals. He seals the papal apartment in the apostolic palace and finally, contacts the members of the College of Cardinals, summoning them to the conclave. Practically, in this instance, these last actions will be *pro forma* as the cardinals will have had several weeks advance notice and will likely be in Rome already on February 28.
Phase Two
The next phase begins as the College of Cardinals is convened under the leadership of the Dean of the College of Cardinals, who is at present Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Secretary-emeritus of the Secretariat of State. The College will be convened as a General Congregation on or about February 28. While only members of the College who are less than 80 years old and one day on the date the vacancy begins may vote in the Conclave, all members may still attend this Congregation.
The General Congregation, working by simple majority vote, manages the work of the Catholic Church during the interregnum, avoiding any major decisions more properly reserved to the future Pontiff. The General Congregation is led by an executive board called the Particular Congregation, which is made up of the *camerlengo* and three other cardinals chosen by lot, every 3 days.
The Particular Congregation leads the discussions of the General Congregation, which also include preparations for the Conclave. The most important of those preparations is setting the date that the Conclave will begin. The guidelines set out in *Universi Dominici Gregis* require the Conclave to begin no later than 20 days from the vacancy of the Holy See, which in this case means by March 18. The Vatican's press office has said it expects this Conclave to begin between March 15 and 18.
However, because the guidelines envision nine days of official mourning for a deceased pontiff and that is of course not necessary here, it is possible that the Conclave could begin as early as March 6.
During this time, the College of Cardinals will meet regularly for prayer, to individually assess what qualities they will look for in choosing the next pope, and to get to know their fellow cardinals and to see which ones best embody those values.
Phase Three
The third phase consists of the Conclave itself and the election of the Pope. All of the cardinals present under the age of 80 are eligible to vote. The College of Cardinals is led by its dean, who is the senior member of the Cardinals of the Order of Bishops, Cardinal Angelo Sodano. However, since Cardinal Sodano is over the age of 80, he is ineligible to vote in the Conclave and would be replaced within the conclave by the next senior member of the Order of Bishops under the age of eighty, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
There are a total of 209 Cardinals, of whom 118 are aged under 80. Of the 118 Cardinal electors as of February 12, 62 are from Europe, 19 from Latin America, 14 from North America, 11 from Africa, 11 from Asia and 1 from Oceania. If a Cardinal participates in the Conclave and then turns 80 while in the conclave, he is eligible to continue to vote. One, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, will turn 80 before February 28 and will not vote in the Conclave. So there are expected to be 117 electors in the Conclave.
On the morning of the day the Conclave opens, there will be a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica concelebrated by all the cardinals, followed by a procession by the cardinal-electors in the afternoon from the Pauline Chapel to the Sistine Chapel. Once inside, the cardinal-electors will take an oath to follow the procedures as laid down by *Universi Domini Gregis*; to maintain the secrecy of the Conclave; to disregard the influence of any secular authorities on how they should vote; and if elected, to defend the liberty of the Holy See.
The Master of the Papal Liturgical Celebrations will then order all unauthorized persons to leave the conclave with the words *extra omnes* ("everyone out"). The doors will be sealed and the deliberations will begin. This is where the we get the word "conclave", which means "with a key", because before the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the cardinals remained in the Sistine Chapel until a final vote, even sleeping on cots in makeshift cells. During the Conclave in 2005, one of the changes since the conclaves of 1978 was that the cardinal-electors stayed in the Casa St. Martha, a guesthouse inside the Vatican.
The oath of secrecy was put in place to preserve the Cardinals from outside pressures so that no one will know how anyone voted and thus reward or punish them for it.
Once inside the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals will have no outside contact except for those who deliver their meals and any medical personnel they might need. They will have no access to newspapers, magazines, mail or the Internet, whether in the Sistine Chapel or in the Casa St. Martha. In fact, the Vatican employs highly trained specialists to prevent any electronic signals from going in or out, especially to prevent any kind of eavesdropping on the process.
Under the rules of the Conclave, there is only one ballot on the first day and then two on each day following, one in the morning and a second in the afternoon, until one candidate receives a vote of two-thirds majority. The voting process itself is dictated by tradition. Each cardinal writes the name of a candidate on a slip of paper, folds it, and drops it into a large chalice. The ballots are counted by a panel of three cardinals who have been chosen by the electors for this role. If a candidate is not chosen, the ballots and any notes are collected and burned with a chemical to produce the black smoke that comes from the most-watched chimney in the world to show that a new pope has not yet been elected.
This continues, with interruptions for prayer and meditation, for as many days as it takes to find a two-thirds majority for a single candidate. In practice, no Conclave has last more than five days since the beginning of the 20th century. Almost certainly, the man selected for the papacy will be one of the cardinals, although it has happened historically that a non-cardinal has been chosen. The last time was Pope Urban VI in 1378.
The dean of the College of Cardinals is summoned and asks the winning candidate if he accepts the decision of his brother cardinals and if he answers in the affirmative, the Conclave is over. He is then asked what name he has chosen for his pontificate. At this point, he is Bishop of the Church of Rome, true Pope and Head of the College of Bishops.
The ballots are then burned without the chemical, producing the white smoke that signals that a pope has been elected. This causes the traditional Roman convergence from around the city upon St. Peter's Square to see the new pope announced from the balcony of St. Peter's.
But before that can happen, the new pope is conveyed to a nearby room, called the Chamber of Tears for the tears that are supposedly shed by the man upon whom this new burden has been placed, and he is vested in his new robes of the papal office.
The senior Cardinal Deacon of the College, currently Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, announces to the people in Rome and to the world from balcony of St. Peter's, "*Habemus Papam*" ("We have a pope") and introduces him to the world for his first apostolic blessing.
Under the rules of the Conclave, there is only one ballot on the first day and then two on each day following, one in the morning and a second in the afternoon, until one candidate receives a vote of two-thirds majority. The voting process itself is dictated by tradition. Each cardinal writes the name of a candidate on a slip of paper, folds it, and drops it into a large chalice. The ballots are counted by a panel of three cardinals who have been chosen by the electors for this role. If a candidate is not chosen, the ballots and any notes are collected and burned with a chemical to produce the black smoke that comes from the most-watched chimney in the world to show that a new pope has not yet been elected.
This continues, with interruptions for prayer and meditation, for as many days as it takes to find a two-thirds majority for a single candidate. In practice, no Conclave has last more than five days since the beginning of the 20th century. Almost certainly, the man selected for the papacy will be one of the cardinals, although it has happened historically that a non-cardinal has been chosen. The last time was Pope Urban VI in 1378.
The dean of the College of Cardinals is summoned and asks the winning candidate if he accepts the decision of his brother cardinals and if he answers in the affirmative, the Conclave is over. He is then asked what name he has chosen for his pontificate. At this point, he is Bishop of the Church of Rome, true Pope and Head of the College of Bishops.
The ballots are then burned without the chemical, producing the white smoke that signals that a pope has been elected. This causes the traditional Roman convergence from around the city upon St. Peter’s Square to see the new pope announced from the balcony of St. Peter’s.
But before that can happen, the new pope is conveyed to a nearby room, called the Chamber of Tears for the tears that are supposedly shed by the man upon whom this new burden has been placed, and he is vested in his new robes of the papal office.
The senior Cardinal Deacon of the College, currently Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, announces to the people in Rome and to the world from balcony of St. Peter’s, “Habemus Papam” (“We have a pope”) and introduces him to the world for his first apostolic blessing.
Sources:
Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis
“The Coming Conclave”, Catholic World Report, December 2003.
Msgr. James P. Moroney, Remarks at News Conference, February 12, 2013.
“Catholic Church: Cardinals”, Catholic-Hierarchy.org
“Fr. Lombardi: Briefing on Papal Activities”, News.va, February 13, 2013
“Papal resignation: Fr. Lombardi SJ briefs journalists”, News.va, February 14, 2013.