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Pope election process explained: White smoke was emitted from a chimney of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City on Thursday, after the third round of voting to elect a new pope for the Catholic Church.
The largest-ever conclave to elect a new pope for the Roman Catholic Church began in the Vatican City earlier on Wednesday. The day began with the Holy Mass, officially the “Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice” Mass, in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
As many as 133 cardinals aged below 80 years, hailing from 70 countries, attended the mass, led by the 91-year-old Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
The new pope will face the momentous challenge of “unifying” the church and its faithful, and choosing to build on the progressive legacy of the late pope, Pope Francis.
The papal conclave is the secret electoral process to elect a pope when “Sede Vacante” (meaning the Holy Chair is vacant) is incurred, following the demise of a pope or his resignation from the post.
The cardinals are placed on lockdown in the Sistine Chapel, devoid of any influence from the outside world, in a process that may typically extend over a few days. For every round of voting that does not yield a winner, black smoke is released from the chapel’s chimney, while white smoke is released once a new pope is elected.
The ceremony of sequestering the eligible cardinals (aged 80 and less) dates back to 1271, when a papal election continued for three years following the death of Pope Clement IV in 1268. This also fell in the 24-year period when Viterbo, near Rome, housed the Holy See, as Rome regularly witnessed conflict between rival aristocratic families (The Vatican City nation would not be formed until 1929.)
According to Vatican News, the Vatican’s official mouthpiece, Viterbo citizens locked the cardinals in the city’s Palace of the Popes to force a decision after the first year failed to yield a pope. The cardinals were provided with limited bread and water supplies, and a key. The Latin phrase ‘cum clave’, meaning with key, would eventually evolve into the word conclave.
Pope Gregory X, thus elected in September 1271, saw fit to revise the outdated election process, and three years on, published the ‘Ubi periculum’, an apostolic constitution dictating the rules of the papal election. Pope Boniface VIII canonised the constitution as law in 1298, and this constitution has served as the basis of papal elections to date.
How is this year’s conclave different?
Of the 133 cardinals voting in this year’s conclave, 108 (about 80% of the electorate) were installed in the post by Pope Francis. This year’s conclave is also the most diverse, with the cardinals representing 70 countries. In contrast, the 2013 conclave, which elected Francis as the pope, featured 115 cardinals from 48 countries, mostly from Europe and North America.
Since 2013, Pope Francis has increased the representation of cardinals from Asia, Africa and South America, regions he called the ‘peripheries’ or nations far from the Vatican with the fastest-growing populations, as well as regions with a minor representation of Catholics. Fifteen nations, including Haiti, Malaysia, Myanmar, Paraguay and Singapore, will be represented for the first time this year.
Pope Francis’s tenure was marked by several unprecedented milestones. He welcomed members of the faithful from the LGBTQ+ community, raised alarm over climate change, embarked on financial reform within the Catholic Church, and introduced measures to ensure accountability of church leaders who allegedly committed or covered sexual abuse. His dying wish to convert a Pope-mobile – his official vehicle of road transport – into a mobile hospital for the wounded and afflicted Palestinians became known last week.
Many of these measures, as well as his general demeanour as a media-friendly and affable pope, made him extremely popular among the general public, but he was viewed critically by the conservative voices in the church.
The current conclave will likely highlight the divides between the progressives and the conservatives. Conservatives, mostly Europe-centric and African cardinals, would prefer a rollback on several reforms instituted by Francis and a stricter reading of the Bible and its teachings. In a report by The New York Times, German Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, a conservative who headed the Vatican’s office on doctrine until his dismissal by Francis, described those who wanted a “a pope for everybody,” continuing in Francis’ direction, as “the media and all the former opponents against the church — the atheist.”
Current papabiles, or favourites for the papacy, include Pietro Parolin, a 70-year-old moderate Italian and the Vatican secretary of state, viewed as lacking the charisma that defined Francis but known to be a diligent diplomat. Another favourite is Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, a Filipino dubbed the “Asian Francis”. The 67-year-old is a fellow progressive who has pushed for care of the poor and the LGBTQ, and support for divorced and remarried Catholics.
Other potential candidates include Peter Erdo, a Hungary conservative, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, an Italian and Jerusalem’s first cardinal, and Robert Prevost, an American.
The conclave is dramatic and high-stakes behind the scenes, even if the details may never become known to the public. Euronews reported that disinformation theories about the next pope abound, while CNN reported that a dossier on papal candidates and their policy positions was in circulation. According to the CNN report, the dossier was authored by two conservative Catholic journalists, using a critical tone for the progressive candidates and praising conservatives like US Cardinal Raymond Burke, who has criticised Francis in the past.
The NYT report predicted that a compromise candidate could emerge as the victor of the conclave, toeing a middle ground between progressivism and conservative discipline.
