Like Pope Francis continues to fight a double pneumonia In the hospital, his poor health throws reflectors on a secret process that the Catholic Church chooses its leader.
The papal “conclave” is deliberately preoccupied with mystery – the term is Latin itself for a “locked room” – but here’s some of its rules and wrinkles:
Who meets the conditions?
Candidates must be male and baptized Catholic. And although this is not a explicit request, every pontif was a cardinal before they were chosen.
Who voting?
The Pope has selected 120 cardinals who must be under the age of 80 at the time of the previous pope’s death or resignation.
From January 22, the world has 252 cardinals, 138 of which suited the age request. It is not clear how 120 were selected. Those over 80 can participate in preliminary meetings.
Mary Hunt, co -founder of the Women’s Federation for Theology, Ethics and Ritual, says the concrete procedure for selecting a new Pope is not transparent or democratic
What is the procedure?
The first day of the conclave begins with a special Mass, after which the cardinals sign in to the Sistine Chapel singing prayers and anthems, praying the saints and the Holy Spirit to help them choose the Pope. Each cardinal puts his hand on the Gospel book and promises the “greatest faithfulness” to never reveal the details of the conclave.
The master of the papal liturgical celebration, an official who organizes religious ceremonies during his term and then cries “Extra Omnes” – Latin for “All Out”. Everyone but the cardinals leave and vote can start.
There is extreme secrecy in the process. According to the Archdiocese of TorontoCardinals can be excommunicated if the information leaks and the chapel is forbidden for listening devices before and after the conclave.
How do they vote?
Each cardinal writes its choice on paper inscribed Latin words “I choose as a supreme pontiff.” They approach the altar one by one and say, “I call my witness, Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my voice is given to the one who, before God, I think he should be chosen.”
The folded ballot leaf was placed on a round plate and slid into an oval urn of silver gold. Once they vote, the ballots open one at a time, which recorded names and read them aloud.
Cardinals can retain their own number on the paper list, but they have to turn their notes to be burned at the end of the vote.
Then the stage sums up the voices and writes results on a separate sheet of paper that is preserved in the papal archives.
While the observer reads each name, he breaks every ballot with a needle through the word “Eligo” (Latin for “I choose”), binds the ballots to the threads and connects the knot.
The ballots are discarded and burned into the stove chapel along with a chemical for the production of white or black smoke; White when a circle of voting leads to a new pope and blacks when he doesn’t.
How long does the conclave last?
On the first day, only one ballot is held, and every day after that, up to four rounds of voting is allowed. The victory requires two thirds.
If no one is chosen after three days, voting pauses until one day. The voting continues and if no Pope was chosen after another seven other ballots, there is another break, and so on, until about 12 days of the ballots passed.
If no one was chosen after 33 rounds, the cardinals go into the run out of the first two candidates, under a relatively new rule introduced by Pope Benedict XVI, unlike the previous rounds, these two candidates cannot throw voting leaves.
The controls lasted for months, and the longest recorded for Choice of Gregory x In the 13th century, which lasted from November 1268 to September 1271. Due to the conflict and beyond mixing.
To prevent the same chaos that saw him chosen, Gregory X brought new rules that sequenced voters and locked them – hence the term “conclave”.
Despite some outlaws, such as the 1740 conclave, which lasted from February to August, the process now lasted only a few days or sometimes weeks. The average conclave in the 20th century was only three days, and the two of them so far 21st century, for Francisco and Benedict, took only five and four leaflets.
What happens after the Pope is chosen?
Once the Pope is selected, the master of the papal liturgical celebration returns to the chapel and dean of the Faculty of Cardinal – who leads the conclave if he is under 80 years of age – asks the winner: “Do you accept your canonical elections as the Supreme Pope?”
Assuming Cardinal says “I accept,” the dean asks, “What name do you want to be called?”
Papal names were originally needed by the name of the winner. Pope John II, elected 533, was the first to do so because Mercurius was born, after the Roman god Mercury. They are now often taken as a homage to previous papes and as an indicator of a new approach to business.
White smoke rises in the Vatican because Cardinal Angelo Giuleppe Roncalli was elected.
The master of liturgical ceremonies then enters information about a formal document, white smoke pours out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica Basilica Bells of St. Peters.
The new Pope then mixes in his white cash register, and one by one, the red coated cardinals approach them to swear into their obedience.
The new Pope will stop and pray in the Pauline chapel for a few minutes before appearing on the loggia of the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square. Previously, on the balcony, Cardinal announced “Habemus Papam!” (“We have a pope!”) And then introduces it to the world in the Latin world.
The new PontiF then appears and brings its first public words as a pope.
