How the next Pope will be elected and what will happen in the conclave

The realization of a conclave to elect a Pope is a tradition of many centuries

With the death of Pope Francis, attention now turns to the choice of his successor. The next Pope will be chosen in what is called “Conclave”, a Latin word that means “a room that can be blocked” or, more simply, “a closed room”.

The members of Cardinian College will vote behind the closed and closed doors of the Vatican Sistine Chapel, famous for their frescoes in the ceiling painted by Michelangelo. Distinguished for their scarlet clothes, the cardinals are chosen by every pope to elect the future popes. A cardinal must have less than 80 years to vote in the conclave. Of the 252 members of the College of Cardinals, 138 are currently suitable to elect the new Pope.

As a scholar of global Catholicism, I am particularly interested in how this will be the most diversified conclave in the history of the Catholic Church.

For many centuries, the College of Cardinals has been dominated by the Europeans in particular. In fact, the first time that a non -European cardinal voted for a conclave was only in the twentieth century, when the archbishop of Baltimore, James Gibbons, devoted to the papal elections of 1903. Currently, Cardinian College has members of over 90 countries and Francisco has appointed us almost 80%.

The realization of a conclave to elect a Pope is a tradition that dates back to the centuries. The practice was founded in 1274 with Pope Gregory X in reaction to the chaos surrounding his elections, which lasted almost three years. The tradition is old, but the results could be surprising, like when Francisco himself was elected in 2013 as the first non -European Pope in almost 1,300 years and the first Jesuit pope of all time.

The conclave begins

Before the Conclave, the College of Cardinals will meet in what are called “General Congregations” to discuss issues addressed by the Church. These general congregations will also be an opportunity for the new cardinals and those of distant geographical locations to get to know their cardinal companions.

This can be a moment of politics. In the past there were rumors according to which politics included votes, as stated in the election of Alexander VI, a Pope Borgia in 1492. Nowadays, he considered a bad form – and bad luck – a cardinal pressure for himself as a candidate. The purchase of votes through the favors of money or cardinals is called “simonia” and is against the law of the Church.

Two three weeks after the papal funeral, the conclave will begin. The cardinals will first make a procession in the Sistine Chapel, where electronic interference devices have been installed to prevent the ears and the use of wi-fi and cell phones. Entering the chapel, the cardinals will sing the hymn in Latin “Eat Holy Spirit“

After these rituals, the master of papal liturgical celebrations will say aloud, in Latin, “Extra Omnes”, which means “all out”. The doors of the Sistine chapter will then be blocked and the conclave will begin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uatcn8gxpsa

Francis undertakes to maintain the confidentiality vote.

The vote process

The cardinals who will elect the Pope will be sitting in an order of classification.

Normally, Cardinian College dean is in first position. But the current dean – Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re – has passed the age of the vote and will not participate in the conclave. Instead, these papal elections will be conducted by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolina.

When the cardinals are collected, nine will be chosen randomly to conduct the elections, three of which will be “tellers” who will examine the banknotes and read them aloud.

After writing the name of the chosen candidate, the cardinals will bring their banknotes into the front of the chapel and place them on a plate that is positioned on a urn in front of the scrutics. Using the dish to put his vote in the polls, they will say: “I call my witness Christ, the Lord, who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think he must be elected”.

A new Pope is elected by a majority of two thirds. If this majority is not reached during the first vote, the banknotes will be burned in a stove. The black smoke that comes out through the fireplace of the Sistine chapel will report to the outside world that the elections are still in progress, a tradition that has begun With the election of Benedict XV in 1914. The chemical additives are used to ensure that smoking is black because, during the election of John Paul II, there was confusion on the color of smoking.

After the first day – and the following days – there will be up to four votes per day if most of the two thirds are not reached. Both Benedict XVI and Francis have been elected after relatively few votes: four in the case of wet; Five in the case of Francisco. According to the rules established by Bento, if a new pope is not chosen after 13 days, there will be a day of prayer and reflection. So the elections will be between the two main candidates, one of whom should receive the majority of two thirds.

This new rule has suggested some commentators, can lead to a longer or even infinite conclave, because it is less likely that a candidate for commitment emerges.

The tear room

The conclaves are generally short, like the election of three votes that chose Pope Pius XII in 1939. On some occasions, the resolutions were rather long – the longest was the papal conclave of 1740, which elected XIV bent and lasted 181 days.

But regardless of the period of time, a new pope will be chosen. When a candidate receives quite votes, he is asked: “You accept your canonical elections as a high pontiff?” By saying “Accepto” or “I accept”, it becomes the new leader of the Catholic Church. This time, the banknotes will be burned to create a white smoke that will say to the world that the conclave is over and that a new pope has been chosen.

Immediately after being elected, the new Pope decides his name, as Jorge Maria Bergoglio did when he was the first Pope to choose the name Francisco. The choice of a name – in particular that of an immediate predecessor – usually indicates the direction of the pontificate of the new Pope. Node Case of FranciscoHis name honored St. Francis of Assisi, a thirteenth century mystical known for his simplicity and love for nature.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ysvyyajgec

The room of tears so called.

The new pope is then led to the “tear room”. In this room, outside the Sistine chapel, it will have moments to reflect on the charges of its position, which often bring the new popes to tears. He will wear a white tunic and other signs of his position. Its elections will be announced by the balcony of the Basilica of San Pietro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_OSYWNMKJE

When Francis was announced as Pope.

From the balcony, the new Pope will save the crowd below and give his first blessing in the world. A new pontificate will have started.

Mathew Schmalz does not consult, works, has actions or receives funding from any company or organization that can benefit from the publication of this article and has not revealed any relevant bonds beyond its academic position.

Source: Terra

Rose

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