The position of pope has almost two millennia of history, when the apostle Saint Peter, right-hand man of Jesus Christ, became the first pope in history around the year 33 AD.
After the death or resignation of the pope, all the cardinals are summoned to Rome, where only the cardinals under 80 years old have the right to vote to select the next representative of the Catholic Church.
Once the conclave has started, this Wednesday, the cardinals carry out a maximum of four daily votes. For this, they are given ballots with the phrase Eligo in Summum Pontificem printed on them, which means “I choose as Supreme Pontiff”, where they must write the name of the chosen one.
Nine of the cardinals are randomly chosen for various tasks: three as scrutineers; three as infirmarii, whose job is to take the ballot box to the rooms of any sick cardinals, if there are any, to facilitate their voting; and three others as revisers, to ensure that the process is carried out clearly.
In order to be elected pope, a candidate must obtain two thirds plus one of the total votes, but if after about thirty votes no one has achieved this result, then the candidate would only need to obtain an absolute majority.
Since the conclave of 1914, a temporary chimney is installed in the Sistine Chapel, where after each vote, the ballots are burned. If the smoke coming out of the chimney after the vote is black, it means that no candidate has been chosen, but if the smoke is white, it means that a new pontiff has been elected, in what is known as fumata bianca.
THE KEYS
The conclave to choose Pope Francis’ successor began on Wednesday in the Sistine Chapel, with 133 cardinal electors.
• Pope Francis appointed 108 of the cardinal electors who make up the conclave.
• To be elected pontiff, a candidate needs two-thirds of the votes. Up to four daily votes will be held until consensus is reached.
CURIOSITIES
Five curious facts about past conclaves.
The shortest: Before 1274, there were occasions when the new pope was elected on the same day as the death of his predecessor. Since then, the Church decided to wait at least 10 days before the first vote. The fastest conclave under the 10-day rule was the election of Julius II in 1503, which was decided in a few hours. Pope Francis was elected in 2013 in the fifth vote, Benedict XVI won in 2005 in the fourth, and Pius XII did it in the third in 1939.
The longest: In the 13th century, the cardinals took 1,006 days (between November 1268 and September 1271) to elect a pope, the successor to Pope Clement IV. It has been the longest conclave in history. This is also where the term conclave, or “under lock and key,” comes from, as the cardinals who gathered in Viterbo, north of Rome, took so long that the citizens locked them in to speed up the process.
The first one in the Sistine Chapel: The first conclave held under the frescoes by Michelangelo decorating the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel took place in 1492. Since 1878, the venue has become the setting for all conclaves.
The youngest pope and the oldest pope: Pope John XII was only 18 years old when he was elected in 955. The oldest were Celestine III, elected in 1191, and Celestine V, in 1294, at almost 85 years old.
A non-cardinal pope: It is not necessary for the pope to be a cardinal, but that has been the case for centuries. The last one to be elected without this rank was Urban VI in 1378, who was a monk and archbishop of Bari.
To delve deeper into the conclave and the possible successor of Pope Francis, we spoke with Felipe Gaytán Alcalá, professor and researcher at La Salle University, and an expert in the sociology of religion.
1. How historic is it to witness a conclave, and how historic is the conclave that is about to begin?
Being a witness to a conclave is historic because it represents a shift in spiritual authority, not only for Catholics, but for a world mediator leader. The papal figure is recognized even by those who are not Catholics.
This conclave is also historic because for the first time, the electing cardinals come from 70 countries and many of them do not know each other. It is the conclave with the greatest cultural and ethnic diversity in the history of the papacy.
2. There are many mysteries and secrets surrounding the conclaves, and a process to choose the pope that does not seem very democratic. What do you think about it?
–The church is a vertical institution based on obedience, so in democracy it is not understood as in political regimes. For them, democracy means allowing laypeople to participate in social activities and to understand the modern world. However, there will be no substantial changes within the clergy.
The election of the pope is not a matter of majorities. On the contrary, they maintain that it is a plan of God that enlightens the shepherds to choose their representative.
3. What attributes should the next pope have and who do you consider to be the strongest candidates?
“I believe that the next pope will have to be from an emerging country, and a pope who knows and can navigate around a changing world. The election of the next pontiff will be complicated, as there are internal disputes within the Catholic Church regarding how much can and should really change. I think it should be a pope more open to the world, and have a more conciliatory tone and discourse."
The struggles within the conclave are visible between those who want to maintain the authority of the church in orthodoxy and those who seek to be more sensitive to their congregation. The days leading up to the start of the conclave have been used for lobbying by both sides. In my opinion, the three strongest candidates are Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines, Matteo Zuppi from Italy, and, surprisingly, Raymond Burke from the United States.
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