Pope Francis was put to rest, the conclave was assembled and, after the deliberation due by the cardinals participants, the world has finally seen white smoke float from the headset of the Sistine Chapel, indicating that a new pope was elected.
So what’s going on?
There have been only seven papal elections in the past 100 years, with more than one quarter of the quarter of a century between the election of Pope John Paul II in October 1978 and that of his successor, Benoît XVI, in April 2005. And now, as then, the long-standing tradition dictates both the practical and ceremonial stages that occur between the new Pontiff elections and when it is officially installed as The Catholic World Church.
Although this can take days, weeks or more so that cardinals include conclave to reach the majority of two thirds necessary to elect a new Pope, the file is 1,006 days, set in the 13th century once the elections are finished, the following events are transmitted at an impressive speed.
Countdown to the first public appearance
The first announcement in the world that a new pope has been selected is reported by tradition by sounding the bells as a Saint-Pierre basilica like bianca white smoke numbers from the stove fireplace at the top of the Sistine Chapel. With these ceremonial opinions, an informal countdown begins when the identity of the new pope is revealed to the world.
While the faithful generally gather daily in Saint-Pierre during the conclave, the public signal that a pontiff was chosen to precipitate a wave of observers rushing among the first to see the new Pope in person.
Although a lot of ceremony remains, it is important to note that the full authority and the jurisdiction of the newly elected Pope begins immediately after his acceptance of the office, which he must of course do before any public announcement if he refuses the office, the conclave continues the ballot.
As soon as the new pontiff has taught its elections, the conclave ends, although the assembled cardinals will remain in the Vatican until the end of the ceremonies which result from it. In 2013, Francis asked that the cardinals stay in Rome for an additional day to pray with him.
Meanwhile, the new Pope is officially asked by what name he will be known. Although the popes are not forced to change their name, each pontiff for 470 years has done so, generally choosing the name of a predecessor to honor them and report their intention to imitate his example. Pope Francis was a notable exception, not choosing the name of an old pope, but that of Saint-François d’Assise, the Saint Clerc and patron of animals and the environment.
The only pontifical name that has not been used more than once is Peter, the name of the first pope, although there is no ban on doing so.
Papal clothing for his first appearance
The next step is to get the new Pope in progress for its first public appearance. Liturgical clothes such as dresses, storage and hats worn by the Pope and other managers of the Christian church are called clothes. Since 1798, Pope’s clothes have been made by the tailors of the Gammarelli family in Rome, who first made the clothes for Pope Pius VI. This year, however, the ecclesiastical tailor Ranieri Manchinelli, also in Rome, prepared the new clothes of the Pope.
Since nobody knows who will be elected Pope and, therefore, the size of the clothes that the new pope will require three clothing sets is prepared in advance for his first public appearance, in small, medium and large sizes.
The clothes are placed in lacrime stanza, or Room of Tears, which is a small sacristy, or the preparation area of the clergy, right next to the Sistine Chapel. It is here that the new Pope will dress in his temporary clothes while the world awaits his first public appearance. However, there is still one last ceremony to finish.
The fisherman’s ring
Once dressed in his clothes, the pontiff returns to the Sistine Chapel and is seated on a papal chair. The Camerlengo who is the cardinal who supervises the conclave, in this case, Cardinal Kevin Ferrell then escorts the master of the ceremonies who wears the fisherman’s ring on a velvet cushion to the new pope. The ring of Pope Francis was broken ceremoniously after his death a ritual signifying the formal end of his papal authority and marking the transition of leadership and the end of his chapter in the history of the Church.
Perhaps more than any other article, the fisherman’s ring in popular culture is most closely identified with papal authority. Thus appointed in honor of Saint-Pierre the apostle, a fisherman and the first pope, the Catholics who meet the pope traditionally embrace the ring to demonstrate both their respect for the pontiff and their devotion to the church.
The Camerlengo places the fisherman’s ring with the fourth finger of the Pope’s right hand, then kneels and kisses it. The pope then removes the ring and gives it to the master of the ceremonies, which will be written the name of the new popes.
The assembled cardinals then go up in turn and pay tribute to the new Pope, who leads them in a hymn and also gives them his blessing the first blessing of his pontificate.
‘Habemus papam’
Now rightly dressed in his temporary clothes, the new pope enters the Saint-Pierre basilica for the official announcement of his election and the revelation of his identity to the faithful and to the world.
With thousands of people gathered on Saint-Pierre Square below, the cardinals who flow from it emerge for the first time on the side balconies of the facade of the Saint-Pierre basilica. The deacon Cardinal Senior then appears on the central balcony and declares in Latin: “Nutio vobis Gaudium Magnum: Habemus papam” “I announce a great joy: we have a pope.”
The main cardinal deacon then announces both the birth name of the elected cardinal and the pontifical name that the new pope has chosen for himself.
It is now only about an hour now after the white smoke emerged for the first time from the stove fireplace in the Sistine Chapel that the new pope, dressed in his papal clothes, comes out on the balcony and welcomes the world. He immediately issued his first sense of the Urbi and Orbi apostolic blessing to “the city and the world”.
Formal desktop installation
A ceremonial mass to officially install the new pope takes place about a week after his elections, either in Saint Peters, or at the Basilica, with cardinals, bishops and other international dignitaries present. While the ceremony has historically presented much more pump and ceremonial related to a coronation including the pope literally crowned a trimegnum or a three -level tiara, and seated on an ornate papal throne, a large part of this repertoire was abandoned.
Pope Paul VI was the last to carry the Tregnum, when he installed in 1963. He was also the first to hold the ceremony outside, on Saint-Pierre square, to welcome the huge crowds who wanted to attend.
ABC News Phoebe Natanson contributed to this report.
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