After Benedict XVI announced his voluntary resignation as pope, a new pope had to be elected. The process of choosing the new Pope has undergone many changes over the centuries. Although some traditions have existed for centuries, each pope also introduces new guidelines for the selection of his successor. When Benedict XVI decided to abdicate before his death, it was a unique event. The normal procedure is that the pope first dies before he gets a successor.
Papal election procedure
Under the current papal election procedure, the new pope is chosen by the cardinals. For a papal election, at least 120 of these church princes must be present. Normally they choose the new pope from among themselves. The condition for eligibility for the papacy is that the cardinal in question is not older than 80 years old and that he must obtain a two-thirds majority support from the college of cardinals. If no candidate has received two-thirds of the required number of votes in a voting round, a second vote must be held. This process will be repeated until one of the candidates has enough votes. In principle, people vote twice a day; in the morning and in the evening. The process to appoint a new pope can therefore take days. When one of the candidates has enough votes, he will become the new pope.
Camerlengo
Before this happens, several other processes must have taken place. The normal procedure is that when the old Pope dies, this must first be determined by the doctor and also the so-called Camerlengo. Camerlengo literally means chamberlain, but in practice he has much more power than that title suggests. You can see him as a kind of right-hand man of the Pope. The camerlengo’s job is to announce the death of the pope to the outside world. By the way, no autopsy is performed on the pope to investigate the cause of death, as this is considered sacrilege. Once the camerlengo announces the death of the pope, he is the deputy head of the church until the new pope is elected. His main task is therefore to ensure that the entire procedure of the papal election proceeds in an orderly manner.
The conclave
It is not yet clear what the papal election will look like in 2013. Pope Benedict XVI has decided to resign as pope before his death. That is highly unusual. This has not happened since the 16th century.
According to normal procedure, there would first be 9 days of mourning after the death of the pope. After this period of mourning has ended, the vote is organized and the College of Cardinals is convened in Rome. The mourning period also gives the cardinals time to travel to Rome for the conclave. This period is fixed. The conclave may begin no earlier than 15 days after the death of the Pope and no later than 20 days after his death.
During the mourning period, all eligible cardinals attend an official meeting, the general congregation. They help to organize the conclave and arrange the pope’s funeral.
Who can be elected Pope?
Although technically any Catholic on Earth may be appointed pope, in practice the pope is always chosen from one of the cardinals in conclave. There are often also some favorites for the papal election. These are also called the papabili. Literally translated, this means papable or ,those who have a good chance of becoming pope,. In the distant past it sometimes happened that men who were not even priests were elected pope, but at the time this had more to do with money and power games than with choosing the best pope. It is very unlikely that such a scenario would occur today.
The official voting for the new pope takes place in the conclave. The term conclave comes from the Latin word cum clavis, which means something like the key. The key symbolizes the secret nature of the vote. During the vote and afterwards, no one will find out what happens in the conclave. The cardinals are even locked up in the rooms where they vote.
Sistine Chapel
The voting itself takes place in the world-famous Sistine Chapel. If the vote lasts longer than one day, the cardinals will be housed in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, a secluded part of the papal palace. They are locked up there as hermits until the vote is over and have no contact with the outside world. Some cardinals without voting rights and sometimes some servants are also part of the conclave, but they also have to swear to confidentiality of what they learn during the conclave.
The mood and white smoke
When the cardinals vote, they do so on a small note that goes into a large cup. After extensive shuffling and counting of the votes, all votes are burned. If no pope has been elected yet, black smoke will be created (by adding chemicals). If a pope has been elected, water will be added and white smoke will appear. This white smoke can be seen by the thousands of faithful waiting in St. Peter’s Square for their new pope.
If a new pope has still not been elected after thirty rounds of voting, it will be proposed to lower the electoral threshold to, for example, 50% of the votes, in order to reach a decision.
At the 2013 conclave, Argentina ‘s Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis I after just five rounds of voting. That was a remarkably quick decision by the cardinals.
Bene pendente
The many Catholics waiting in front of St. Peter’s Basilica often feel the white smoke as a symbol of the rebirth of their church and mourn for their old pope. Now, of course, Benedict XVI will not have to be mourned since he is voluntarily resigning. After election, the chosen one will accept the papacy and then a series of formalities follow. According to a well-known myth, the Pope would even be tested for his masculinity, to prevent another woman from accidentally being elected Pope. According to this story, the Pope would sit on a chair called a sedes stercoraria and the youngest cardinal would have to feel whether the Pope had balls. If it was right, he would shout: , Testiculos habet et bene pendentes! ,, in other words, he has balls and they fit well!
Habemus Papam and his name is Benedict XVI
The highlight for the faithful is when it is announced that there is a new pope; Habemus papam! After this, the new pope will appear on the balcony, be applauded and bless the crowd.
The procedure described above only applies exactly when the Pope has died . What the role of Benedict XVI will be and whether he will interfere with the conclave is not yet certain. The only thing that is certain is that there will soon be a new pope.