The Papal Conclave: Electing the Successor to Pope Francis

On May 7th, the conclave commences, a gathering of cardinals to elect the successor to the late Pope Francis. The duration remains uncertain, but the world eagerly awaits the sight of white smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel, signaling "Habemus Papam" – We have a Pope.

Historically, papal elections have varied in length, with some conclaves stretching for years. While a similarly protracted process is unlikely this time, experts anticipate a potentially lengthy deliberation. The sheer number of potential candidates and the complex procedures involved contribute to this expectation.

Who Can Be Pope? And How is the Election Conducted?

This article addresses key questions surrounding the upcoming conclave.

The Electors: Cardinals and Their Eligibility

Of the 252 cardinals within the Catholic Church, 135 are eligible to participate in the conclave. Eligibility is restricted to cardinals who were under 80 years of age when Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday. Cardinals are obligated to attend the conclave unless prevented by illness or other serious impediments. While two cardinals initially withdrew due to health concerns, Emeritus Archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljić, has since decided to participate.

Therefore, approximately 134 cardinals are expected to take part in the election – a record number. The majority of the cardinals are over 70 years old. The oldest participant is Spanish Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra, the former Archbishop of Madrid, who at 79 years and eleven months, is just eligible. The youngest is 45-year-old Ukrainian Mykola Byczok, a bishop in Melbourne, Australia.

While a limit of 120 electors is typically enforced, Pope Francis appointed so many cardinals during his tenure that the limit has been exceeded. Excluding any cardinal would be difficult to justify, so all 134 will participate in the Sistine Chapel.

These cardinals represent 65 different countries. 53 are from Europe (17 from Italy), 23 from Asia, 18 from Africa, 17 from South America, 20 from North America, and 4 from Oceania. Germany will be represented by Reinhard Cardinal Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising; Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki, Archbishop of Cologne; and Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Müller, a Curial Cardinal and Emeritus Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Attendance is mandatory. Cardinals who are not physically present cannot vote. If a cardinal arrives late, they can participate in the voting process from the time of their arrival.

Theoretically, any Catholic man who meets the requirements for the office of bishop can be elected Pope. If someone who is not already a bishop receives the majority vote, they must be consecrated as a bishop immediately upon accepting the election. However, since 1387, the elected candidate has always been a member of the College of Cardinals.

The Election Process: A Sacred Ritual

The outcome of this papal election is considered one of the most open in recent decades. The conclave is more internationally diverse than ever before. A majority of the eligible cardinals – over 100 appointed by Pope Francis in the last twelve years – are participating for the first time. Many of these cardinals do not know each other personally, adding another layer of complexity to the election.

Potential Successors

Italian Pietro Parolin is considered a frontrunner. The 70-year-old served as Cardinal Secretary of State under Francis, making him the Vatican’s highest-ranking diplomat. Electing Parolin would signify a continuation of Francis’s policies. Parolin has been involved in implementing his predecessor’s curial reforms and has extensive international connections. His election would be a significant event for Italy, marking the first Italian Pope since 1978.

Other potential candidates are also being considered.

The list of potential candidates continues to grow. Surprises are always possible. The election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires (later Pope Francis) in 2013, was unexpected by many. The saying, "He who enters the conclave as Pope comes out as a cardinal," often proves true.

The Setting: Sistine Chapel and Beyond

The papal election takes place in the Sistine Chapel. The usual crowds of tourists are replaced by twelve heavy cherry wood tables, six on each side of the entrance. The table for the election officials and the ballot urns are positioned in front of Michelangelo’s masterpiece, "The Last Judgment." The Bible, on which all cardinals swear an oath, also rests there.

During the conclave, the cardinals reside at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, a guesthouse within Vatican City. Meals are served at the guesthouse.

The Ritual: Prayers, Oaths, and Ballots

At 10:00 AM, the cardinals gather in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Mass Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice (For the Election of the Roman Pontiff). The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, leads the service. He also presided over the Requiem Mass for the deceased Pope Francis.

At 4:15 PM, the eligible cardinals assemble in the Cappella Paolina within the Apostolic Palace. From there, at 4:30 PM, they process into the Sistine Chapel, led by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the highest-ranking cardinal bishop under 80, who presides over the conclave.

Before the election begins, the cardinals swear an oath to uphold the regulations of the conclave and pledge absolute secrecy. The Master of Ceremonies then calls out "extra omnes" (all out), instructing all non-electors to leave the chapel.

The election process adheres to strict rules. Each cardinal receives a ballot on which they write the name of their preferred candidate. To cast their vote, the cardinals approach the altar one by one, raise their hand, and recite the oath: "I call Christ, who will be my judge, to witness that I am electing the one who, before God, I believe should be elected." They then place the folded ballot from a silver plate into the urn.

Once all the votes have been cast, the names are read aloud and tallied. The cardinals are instructed to disguise their handwriting while still writing legibly to ensure anonymity. The first ballot is expected on Wednesday evening, and smoke may emerge from the Sistine Chapel chimney around 7:00 PM.

The Outcome: White Smoke and Habemus Papam

A new Pope is elected when a candidate receives two-thirds of the votes. With 134 electors, this translates to 89 votes. If the required majority is not reached, voting resumes the next day, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. After 35 unsuccessful ballots, a runoff election may be considered.

Seclusion and Secrecy

During the conclave, the cardinals are completely isolated from the outside world. As the origin of the term "conclave" from the Latin "cum clave" (with key) suggests, they are locked inside the Sistine Chapel until a new Pope is found.

To prevent any external influence or distraction, the windows and doors are sealed. Mobile phones, tablets, and laptops are collected before the conclave begins. Telephone calls and social media use are prohibited. There is no internet access, television, or newspapers. Jammers are installed as a security measure.

The Domus Sanctae Marthae, where the cardinals reside, is also completely sealed off. However, the cardinals will not be entirely alone. Doctors, cooks, and technicians will be present in the buildings during the conclave, but they are bound by absolute secrecy and forbidden from speaking to any cardinal. A telephone is available for emergencies.

The election rules also stipulate that the cardinals refrain from any form of negotiations, agreements, or promises during the voting process. Violation of this rule carries the penalty of excommunication.

Residence: Domus Sanctae Marthae

The cardinals stay at the Domus Sanctae Marthae during the conclave. This guesthouse was the last residence of Pope Francis, where he also passed away. His suite, number 201, remains sealed with a red ribbon and a wax seal, which only the new Pope can break.

This is the third time that cardinals have resided at Santa Marta during a papal election. This time, space may be tight. The guesthouse has only 106 suites, 22 single rooms, and a larger apartment. Some cardinals may have to stay in rooms in the adjacent Alt Santa Marta building. Contact with the outside world is also forbidden in Santa Marta.

The cardinals also eat lunch and dinner at the Vatican guesthouse. Santa Marta is only a few hundred meters from the Sistine Chapel. Despite the short distance, a shuttle service will be provided, as some of the older cardinals are no longer able to walk well.

Santa Marta is not only a place to eat and sleep. It is also a place to talk, discuss, and potentially form alliances after unsuccessful ballots. Pope Francis wrote in his autobiography that he was bombarded with questions in Santa Marta before his election.

Accommodation for the cardinals is now much more comfortable than in the past. Until 1978, the cardinals stayed in the immediate vicinity of the Sistine Chapel, under magnificent ceiling paintings, but in wooden cabins with iron beds and chamber pots, lacking even toilets.

Duration and Historical Context

There is no time limit for the election of a new Pope. The conclave can be over in a few hours, or it can take days or weeks.

The shortest conclave, which elected Julius II on October 31, 1503, lasted only a few hours. In 1939, Pius XII was elected on the first day. In the three most recent elections, the process was also quite quick. John Paul II was elected in 1978 after two days and a total of eight ballots. Benedict XVI was elected in 2005 on the second day, but already in the fourth ballot. Francis was elected in 2013 on the second day in the fifth ballot.

The longest papal election in history lasted around three years. After the death of Pope Clement IV in November 1268, the cardinals only reached a compromise on September 1, 1271. Some wanted an Italian, others a Frenchman. In the end, an outsider was elected: Tebaldo Visconti, the Archdeacon of Liège, who was in the Holy Land at the time, took the papal name Gregory X.

The election was not achieved without external pressure. From June 1270, the city authorities of Viterbo, where the conclave took place, tried to speed up the decision-making process. They walled in the College of Cardinals in the Bishop’s Palace. Food was rationed, and finally the roof was even removed to expose the voters to the elements.

Announcement and Inauguration

Once a cardinal has reached the necessary two-thirds majority, he is asked whether he accepts the election as Pope and what name he wishes to take. The choice of name is considered symbolic and programmatic.

The election is made public by white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney and the ringing of the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The new Pope withdraws to the sacristy of the Sistine Chapel, the so-called "Room of Tears," to don the papal vestments. Three sizes are prepared, as well as a stole of gold brocade.

The eligible cardinals then approach the new Pope one by one to pledge their allegiance. After a joint prayer, the highest-ranking cardinal deacon, currently French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and says the words: Habemus papam! (We have a Pope!). It usually takes a quarter of an hour before the new head of the Church presents himself to the public. From the balcony, he then gives his first Urbi et orbi blessing (to the city and the world).

The official inauguration takes place a few days later.

The Smoke Signals: White and Black

When the cardinals are gathered in the Sistine Chapel for the conclave, there is only one permitted means of communication with the outside world: smoke signals from the Sistine Chapel chimney. After each ballot, the ballots are burned. The successful election of a new Pope is signaled by white smoke. Black smoke indicates that one or two ballots have been unsuccessful.

Since the conclave of April 2005, the smoke has been produced by two cast-iron stoves. In one oven, which has been used since 1939, the counted ballots are burned. A modern oven from 2005 uses chemicals to produce white or black smoke.