How the papal conclave will choose a new Pope after the death of Pope Francis

The reign of Pope Francis It is over and, while the Catholic Church cries His deathHe is also looking towards the future. Shortly after Saturday funerala papal conclave It must be retained to choose his successor, and the question now becomes What a man – And it will be a man, since women cannot be ordered priests in the Catholic Church, will arise and climb to the balcony in the papal gift to greet mass crowds in the Plaza de San Pedro in the Vatican.

Below is an aspect within the conclave process, with a breakdown step by step how the next Pope will be chosen and anointed under the iconic cool of Miguel Ángel on the roof of the Vatican Sistine Chapel.

What exactly is the papal conclave?

The papal conclave is the closely saved meeting of cardinal voters, all cardinals who are under 80 years of age, to choose the next Pope.

The exact number varies, but there are currently around 135 cardinal voters who will meet in the Vatican around the world to choose the successor of Pope Francis.

Of the eligible this time, a large majority, 108 of them, were named by Pope Francis During his 12 -year -old papacy. They come from 71 different countries; 10 are from the United States.

When will the papal conclave begin?

The Vatican has not yet announced the date on which the conclave will begin, but according to the rules of the Church, it must be within 15 to 20 days after the death of the Pope, which in this case would fall in the first or second week of May.

How does the papal conclave work?

The way in which this assembly proceeds to choose the next Pope is a process that dates back to hundreds of years: an intricate and choreographed procession of rituals and ballots.

The first day of the papal conclave, the cardinal voters will go out of the outside world and begin the transcendental task of choosing, probably among their own ranks, the man who will become the 267 ° Bishop of Rome, better known as the Pope.

The first day, the cardinals celebrate a morning mass in the Basilica of San Pedro. In the afternoon, they walk in a solemn procession to the Sistine Chapel, which will have undergoing a security sweep to verify if there are illicit recording devices before their arrival.

For centuries, the cardinal voters were physically locked inside the Sistine Chapel until they chose a new pontiff, they went to eat and sleep under the vivid masterpiece of the Renaissance of Michelangelo. These days, they let rest and share meals in Santa Marta House, a residence similar to a hotel within the city of the Vatican, where Francis had his own personal apartment during his pontificate, for many days that leads them to a decision.

Once the cardinals have presented themselves to the chapel, their large bronze doors are dramatically closed and sealed, and the voting of the first day begins.

How does the vote work for a new Pope?

The cardinals will have already discussed the merits of each papal perspective during the days of “general congregations” in the Vatican before the conclave, but now the vote begins. Choosing the new Pope requires not only a majority, but also a two -thirds more vote among cardinal voters for a candidate to win. Pope Benedict XVI, who directed the Church before Francisraised the threshold and consecrated the two -thirds requirement in the law of the Church two days before resigning.

Each cardinal must make an oath of absolute secret before voting. If they disseminate any information from the conclave, the Church excommunicates it.

To vote, each cardinal writes the name of his candidate chosen on a ballot, disguising his letter, then walks towards an altar in the front of the chapel and deposits the paper on a ceremonial plaque. Then incline the plate of the plate towards a chalice.

As they are counted and the entrances written by hand registered by three cardinals on the altar, known as scrutineers, the ballots are deposited in another urn.

A third urn, made of golden bronze and silver and adorned with Christian images, is used to transport the tickets of any cardinal too sick to leave their bedrooms to the chapel to count.

After the first vote is celebrated in the first afternoon, the cardinal ballots are placed in one of the two small furnaces inside the Sistine Chapel and burn. A smoke plume flows through a fireplace and is located in the air over the Plaza de San Pedro, anxiously guarded by the faithful and the media of the world.

If that voting round does not produce winner, the smoke will be black, a sign for the world that the Holy See remains vacant.

How long can a conclave last?

The voting process will be repeated the next day, with the cardinals holding two tickets in the morning and two in the afternoon. If the morning sessions are not conclusive, the black smoke will be seen again at lunchtime, early in the morning on the east coast of the United States.

If there is still no winner after the afternoon votes, more black smoke will arrive at the Roman sky early at night.

If there are no two thirds of the majority after three days, the vote stops for a day to give time for prayer, discussion and a “brief spiritual exhortation” by the Senior cardinal in the order of deacons.

Then the voting process resumes. A conclave will last until cardinal voters agree to an choice for the next Pope.

How long has it taken to choose a new Pope in the past?

The longest conclave in history was the one that brought Pope Gregory X to the Papacy in 1281. It lasted almost three years from the moment the cardinals began to vote for the first time.

The recent ones arrange, however, they have lasted only days. Pope John Paul II needed eight tickets, for two days, to become the pontiff in 1978. His successor, Benedict XVI, was chosen in the fourth vote, after two days, in 2005.

Francis, in 2013, needed only five tickets, with the vote taking only 24 hours.

What will happen once the conclave chooses the next Pope?

When sufficient cardinals agree with a candidate and the vote reaches the threshold of two thirds of more, the chosen man is asked if he accepts the role. He will simply say the word to “accept” in Latin: “I accept.”

At that time, he becomes the new Pope and will indicate his pontificate name chosen before the Cardinals gathered. The most common papal name has been John, used 21 times. Others, including Simplicius, Hilarius and Zosimus, have only been used once. Pope Francis was also the first to choose his papal name.

The ballots are burned in the stove, but this time, a chemical additive is omitted to create the highly anticipated complement of “Fumata Bianca”, white smoke.

There has been confusion for some past arranges about the color of the smoke that rises on the chapel, so it makes two agrees, in 2005, a new tradition began. In addition to the white smoke, Bells Now Chime, announcing the news that the Roman Catholic Church has a new leader.

The new Pope then immediately enters a camera adjacent to the Sistine Chapel to be dressed in papal robes.

Like the faithful and the curious crowd in the Plaza de San Pedro underneath, the cardinal deacon leaves the central balcony of the Basilica of San Pedro to present to the new pontiff the famous phrase, “Habemus dad”, we have a Pope.

Finally, the new leader of the Catholic Church emerges in the center of attention to deliver his first blessing.

In:
• Pope Francis
• Vatican City
• Catholic church