While Pope Francis continues to fight double pneumonia in the hospital, his poor health throws a projector on the arcanic process of the way the Catholic church elects its leader.
The papal “conclave” is intentionally surrounded by mystery – the term itself is Latin for “room locked room” – but here are some of its rules and wrinkles:
Who is eligible?
Applicants must be men and a Catholic baptized. And, although this is not an explicit requirement, each pontiff was cardinal before being elected.
Who votes?
The Pope is chosen by 120 cardinals who must be under 80 years old at the time of death or the resignation of the previous Pope.
As of January 22, the world had 252 cardinals, 138 of which adapt to age. We do not know how the 120 are chosen. Those over 80 can participate in preliminary meetings.
Mary Hunt, co-founder of Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual, says that the process is conclave to elect a new Pope is not transparent or democratic
What is the process?
The first day of the conclave begins with the special mass, after which the cardinals deposit in the Sistine chapel by chanting prayers and hymns, imploring the saints and the Holy Spirit to help them choose a Pope. Each cardinal places his hand on a book of Gospels and Promises “with the greatest fidelity” to never reveal the details of the conclave.
The master of papal liturgical celebrations, an official who organizes religious ceremonies by the pontiff during his mandate, then cries “Extra Omnes” – Latin for “All Out”. Anyone except the cardinals leave and the vote can begin.
There is an extreme secret to the process. According to the archdiocese of TorontoCardinals can be excommunicated if they disclose information and the chapel is swept away for listening devices before and after the conclave.
How do they vote?
Each cardinal writes his choice on an article inscribed with the Latin words for “I choose as supreme pontiff”. They approach the altar one by one and say: “I call like my witness, Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think that should be elected.”
The folded ballot is placed on a round plate and slipped into an oval gold urn in gold. Once poured, the ballots are opened one by one by one scrutor, which note the names and read them aloud.
Cardinals can keep their own count on a sheet of paper provided, but must put their notes to be burned at the end of the vote.
The scrupots then add the votes and write the results on a separate sheet of paper which is kept in the papal archives.
While the examination of the scrutor reads each name, he pierces each ballot with a needle through the word “Eligo” (Latin for “I choose”), links the ballots with wire and ties a knot.
The voting bulletins are then put aside and burned in the stove of the chapel with a chemical to produce white or black smoke; White when a voting series leads to a new pope and black when it does not.
How long does a conclave last?
A single ballot takes place on the first day, with up to four voting cycles authorized every day after. A majority of two thirds is necessary to win.
If no one is elected after three days, the voting of breaks up to one day. The vote of the curriculum vitae and if no pope is elected after seven ballots, there is another break, and so on up to approximately 12 days of ballot.
If no one is selected after 33 laps, the cardinals switch to the runoff of the first two contenders, as part of a relatively new rule introduced by Pope Benoît XVI. Unlike the previous towers, these two candidates cannot vote.
The conclaves last for months, the longest being that the longest was for the selection of Gregory X in the 13th century, which lasts from November 1268 to September 1271 due to intestine struggles and external interference.
To prevent the same chaos that saw him elected, Gregory X promulgated new rules that kidnapped voters and locked them – hence the term “conclave”.
Despite some aberrant values, such as the conclave from 1740 which lasted from February to August, the process now tends to take a few days or sometimes weeks. The average conclave in the 20th century was only three days, and the two until now in the 21st century, for Francis and Benedict, have only taken five and four ballots, respectively.
What is happening once a pope is elected?
Once a pope is elected, the master of the Papal liturgical celebrations returns to the chapel and the dean of the Cardinal College – who directs the conclave if they are under the age of 80 – ask the winner: “Do you accept Your canonical election as supreme pontiff? “
Assuming that the cardinal says “I accept”, the dean asks: “By what name would you like to be called?”
Papal names were originally intended to catholize the birth name of the winner. Pope John II, elected in 533, was the first to do so because he was born Mercurius, after the Roman god Mercury. They are now often considered a tribute to previous popes and as an indication of the approach of the news of work.
White smoke rises to the Vatican while Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli is elected Pope.
The master of liturgical ceremonies then enters into information on an official document, the white smoke comes out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the bells of the Saint Peters basilica.
The new pope then turns into his white tin-breast, and one by one approach of cardinals dressed in red to swear their obedience.
The new pope will stop and pray in the Pauline chapel for a few minutes before emerging on the Balcon loggia overlooking Saint-Pierre square. The previous one on the balcony is a cardinal who announces “Habemus Papam!” (“We have a pope!”) And then presents it to the world in Latin.
The new pontiff emerges and then delivers his first public words as a pope.
