Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to make ballots. About 120 will secretly vote for their chosen candidate, writing their name on a ballot and placing it in a chalice at the top of the altar.
If no candidate receives the majority of two thirds required, another voting series takes place. There may be up to four laps a day. The conclave which elected Pope Francis in 2013 took approximately 24 hours and five ballots, but the process can work longer; One conclave in the 13th century took about three years, while another in the 18th century took four months.
Once the ballots are counted, they are burned in a stove inside the Sistine Chapel, installed in advance by the Vatican firefighters. A second stove burns a chemical sending a smoke signal through a fireplace to the outside world: black smoke means that a new pope has not been selected, white smoke means that we have.
The new pope
Once a pope is chosen, a representative of the College of Cardinals lits Latin announcement Habemus PapamWhich means “we have a pope”, from the main balcony of the Saint-Pierre basilica overlooking thousands of eager faithful.
Then, the freshly elected pope, having chosen a papal name (most likely an honorary a saint or a predecessor) and put on a white cassock, left on the balcony to give his first address to the public. And with that, the Catholic world has a new leader.
In addition to setting up the teachings and morality of the Church, the Pope exercises an important diplomatic and political power in global policy, acting as a mediator in world conflicts and guiding humanitarian efforts.
Most popes are used until the day of their death. Pope Benoît XVI, who resigned in 2013, at the age of 85, due to the drop in health, was the first pontiff to resign in 600 years.
Ben Munster contributed to this report.
Politices
