Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88, was the first ever pope from the Americas and an austere Jesuit intellectual. He was 76 when he was elected, and got his name changed to mirror St. Francis of Assisi from Jorge Bergoglio. With the announcement of his death, the pressing question of his replacement has been discussed. How long does it take? What does this process look like? How was it done in the past?
Successor
The next pope will be chosen by the College of Cardinals, which is the Catholic church’s most senior figures appointed by the pontiff. Most of the them are already in Rome, and the rest are probably on their way for the funeral and the conclave. Francis appointed nearly 80 per cent of the cardinal electors who will be choosing the next pope, increasing the possibility that his successor will continue his progressive policies, despite the strong pushback from traditionalists.
Who can be pope?
Even though only cardinals have been elected for the last 600-plus years to be pope, according to the Canon Law any unmarried, baptized male Catholic, clergy or not, who has reached the age of reason, is eligible to be pope.
Who was the very first pope?
The first pope was St. Peter, after whom St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City is named. According to the Church St. Peter was appointed by Christ. For the first thousand years, approval from at least one secular party was required once the Church selected a successor. This made the choosing of the next pope both fractious and extremely political. The papal election process as we currently recognize it began with Pope Nicholas II, the 155th pope, who in 1059 issued a landmark bull, or edict, that contained major church reforms, among them giving the sole power of papal election to the College of Cardinals – a responsibility they retain to this day, under oath.
How many popes have there been?
Till date there has been a total of 266 popes in the Catholic Church. However, all those elected had had specific qualifications to hold the post. Nearly 40 of these popes were considered illegitimate for mainly being appointed by secular rulers or warring factions of the church, hence, not officially counted by the Vatican. The last of these so-called antipopes was Felix V, whose roughly nine-and-a-half-year reign ended in 1449. With a total of 10 years and 50 days, there have been five different periods without a pope and an active papal selection process.
Has anyone ever rejected being elected pope?
There have not been many such instances, but that being said, the first person to have done so was St. Philip Benizi, in 1271, who reportedly was so opposed to being elected that he ran away and hid until another candidate was chosen. The late 16th century St. Charles Borromeo and Cardinal Giovanni Colombo, were among those who rejected papacy.
Why do popes change their names, and do they have to?
This is about tradition! Immediately after affirming that he accepts his election, the ceremonial second question a new pope is asked is, “By what name shall you be known?” The tradition of changing names began with the 56th pope, John II, elected in the year 533, who felt that using his birth name, Mercurius, was inappropriate because of its association with the Roman god Mercury. However, it is not obligatory to change one’s name, which makes the answer to the question obvious. In fact, the practice of choosing a papal name remained inconsistent for the next 1,000 years after John II, with most popes using their baptismal names. It is a practice that became more common with some non-Italian popes to make it easier for Romans to pronounce it. Pope Marcellus II, elected in 1555, was the last to use his baptismal name. His successor, Giovanni Pietro, chose the papal name Paul IV, and the practice has continued uninterrupted since then. The tradition is now seen as a way for the new pope to signal which of his predecessors he will emulate. Pope Francis chose to change his name to St. Francis, as it inspired him as the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation. So shall we have a Pope Francis II then?
What are the most-used papal names?
By being taken by 23 popes, John has been the most popular papal name so far. With Gregory being the second most popular with 16 uses. Benedict is tied with Gregory for second, also with 16 uses, with the most recent being Pope Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI. Following Gregory and Benedict, there have been 14 Clements, 13 Innocents, 13 Leos, and 12 Piuses.
Who was pope for the longest/shortest time?
Even though it is impossible to verify, the church officially recognizes St. Peter, the first pope, as the longest-serving, with at least 34 years. The record for shortest time as pope goes to Urban VII, who died of malaria in September 1590 after just 13 days in office.
Who was the youngest/oldest pope?
The youngest Pope was John XII, who is believed to have been just 18 years old when he was elected in 955 as the 130th pope. At 81 years old, Pope Gregory XII, the 206th pope was the oldest pope at the time of election, in November 1406.
Who makes the pope’s clothes?
The Gammarelli family tailors in Rome have been given the responsibility of manufacturing the pope’s vestments and off-the-rack liturgical garments since 1978, with their first manufacture for Pope Pius VI. While a new pope is being chosen, the Gammarellis prepare three sets of vestments in small, medium and large sizes so that they will be ready to be worn immediately by the new pope, who makes his first public appearance within hours of election. Pope John XXIII, who was 1.7m tall and weighed close to 90.7kg when elected in 1958, donned the small-size vestments by mistake for his first public appearance, requiring attendants to slit them up the back so that they appeared to fit from the front, hahahahaha.
How long does it take to elect a new pope?
The process can take days, weeks or even longer, depending on how divided the cardinals are on the choice of candidate. Each day, the conclave can hold up to four rounds of voting to try to achieve the required two-thirds majority. If, after 33 rounds, there is still no decision, the top two candidates face off in a run-off vote. The elections of the last three popes have been relatively quick, with each lasting only several days. But historically, elections have sometimes dragged on much longer, with the papal conclave that elected Pope Gregory X in 1271 taking nearly three years due to fierce political wrangling.
The voting process
Currently, the ballots are simple cards, folded once, like a note card, with the words “I elect as Supreme Pontiff” printed in Latin on them. On the afternoon of the first day, one ballot (referred to as a scrutiny) may be held, but is not required, since it is just an opinion poll. If a ballot takes place on the afternoon of the first day and no-one is elected, or no ballot had taken place, a maximum of four ballots are held on each successive day: two in each morning and two in each afternoon. Before voting in the morning and again before voting in the afternoon, the electors take an oath to obey the rules of the conclave. If no result is obtained after three vote days of balloting, the process is suspended for a maximum of one day for prayer and an address by the senior cardinal deacon. After seven further ballots, the process may again be similarly suspended, with the address now being delivered by the senior cardinal priest. If, after another seven ballots, no result is achieved, voting is suspended once more, the address being delivered by the senior cardinal bishop. After a further seven ballots, there is a day of prayer, reflection and dialogue. In the following ballots, only the two names who received the most votes in the last ballot are eligible in a runoff election, where a two-thirds majority is still required. The two people voted on, even if they are cardinal electors, do not themselves have the right to vote.
Process
The process of voting comprises three phases: the “pre-scrutiny”, the “scrutiny”, and the “post-scrutiny.
Pre-scrutiny
During the pre-scrutiny, the masters of ceremonies prepare ballot papers bearing the words Eligo in Summum Pontificem (I elect as Supreme Pontiff) and provide at least two to each cardinal elector. As the cardinals begin to write down their votes, the secretary of the College of Cardinals, the master of papal liturgical celebrations and the masters of ceremonies exit. The junior cardinal deacon then closes the door. He draws by lot nine names. The first three become scrutineers, the second three infirmarii and the last three revisers. New scrutineers, infirmarii and revisers are not selected again after the first scrutiny. The same nine cardinals perform the same task for the second scrutiny. After lunch, the election resumes with the oath to obey the rules of the conclave taken anew when the cardinals again assemble in the Sistine Chapel. Nine names are chosen for new scrutineers, infirmarii, and revisers. The third scrutiny then commences, and if necessary, a fourth immediately follows.
Scrutiny
The scrutiny phase of the election is as follows: The cardinal electors proceed, in order of precedence, to take their completed ballots, which bear only the name of the individual voted for, to the altar, where the scrutineers stand. Before casting the ballot, each cardinal elector takes the following Latin oath: Testor Christum Dominum, qui me iudicaturus est, me eum eligere, quem secundum Deum iudico eligi debere (I call as my witness Christ the Lord, who is to judge me, that I choose him whom according to God I judge ought to be elected). If any cardinal elector is in the chapel, but cannot proceed to the altar due to infirmity, the last scrutineer may go to him and take his ballot after the oath is recited. If any cardinal elector is by reason of infirmity confined to his room, the infirmarii go to their rooms with ballot papers and a box. Any such sick cardinals complete the ballot papers and then take the oath and drop the ballot papers into the box. When the infirmarii return to the chapel, the ballots are counted to ensure that their number matches with the number of ill cardinals, whereupon they are deposited in the appropriate receptacle. This oath is taken by all cardinals as they cast their ballots. If no one is chosen on the first scrutiny, then a second scrutiny immediately follows. A maximum total of four scrutinies can be taken each day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. The oath taken when casting one’s vote, under present rules is only verbal, since the name of the elector is no longer signed on the ballot (as it used to be the case some time ago) with that of the candidate.
Previously, the ballot was signed by the elector, who included his motif, a unique identification code. Then he folded it over at two places to cover his signature and motif. After this, it was sealed with wax to result in a semi-secret ballot. The wax seals were opened only if a candidate received the bare minimum needed for election. This was to ensure that the apparently elected man had not voted for himself. This was the procedure from 1621 to 1945. This system was last used in the conclave of 1939. There was no oath taken when actually casting ballots, prior to 1621. At some conclaves prior to 1621, the cardinals verbally voted and sometimes stood in groups to facilitate counting the votes cast. The signature and motif of the elector covered by two folded-over parts of the ballot paper was added by Gregory XV in 1621, to prevent anyone from casting the deciding vote for himself. In 1549, Cardinal Pole of England refused to cast the deciding vote for himself, which would then have been followed by the accession to raise his vote total to at least one more than the minimum number needed, and so was not elected. In 1492, Cardinal Borgia (Pope Alexander VI) almost certainly privately bribed other cardinals to vote for him. It is certain that he would not have been allowed to cast the deciding vote for himself, without the knowledge and consent of the other cardinals. A procedure called accession gave electors who had not voted for the possible new pope the opportunity to change their votes and make the election unanimous, or nearly so, except for the personal vote of the possible new pope. This is how Cardinal Borgia was elected Pope Alexander VI in 1492.
Faced by the mortal challenge to the papacy emanating from Protestantism, and fearing schism due to several stormy conclaves in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Gregory XV established the procedure of signed ballots to prevent any cardinal from casting the deciding vote for himself. The accession was not ended, but seldom used until Pius XII abolished it in 1945. Since 1945, a cardinal can cast the deciding vote for himself without the accession, though the two-thirds majority rule has always been continued, except when John Paul II had modified that rule in 1996, after 33 ballots, a simple majority being sufficient. The two-thirds majority rule was restored in 2007 by Benedict XVI. Prior to 1621, the only oath taken was that of obedience to the rules of the conclave in force at that time, when the cardinals entered the conclave and the doors were locked, and each morning and afternoon as they entered the Sistine Chapel to vote. Gregory XV added the additional oath, taken when each cardinal casts his ballot, to prevent cardinals wasting time in casting what was known as courtesy votes and instead narrowing the number of realistic candidates for the papal throne to perhaps only two or three. Speed in electing a pope was important, and that meant using an oath so as to get the cardinals down to the serious business of electing a new pope and narrowing the number of potentially electable candidates. Beginning with the use of totally secret ballots in the 1958 conclave, it is now possible for a cardinal to cast the deciding vote for himself, without the knowledge and consent of the other cardinals.
Once all votes have been cast, the first scrutineer chosen shakes the container, and the last scrutineer removes and counts the ballots. If the number of ballots does not correspond to the number of cardinal electors present, including sick cardinals in their rooms, the ballots are burnt, unread, and the vote is repeated. If no irregularities are observed, the ballots may be opened and the votes counted. Each ballot is unfolded by the first scrutineer. All three scrutineers separately write down the name indicated on the ballot. The last of the scrutineers reads the name aloud. Once all of the ballots have been opened, the final post-scrutiny phase begins.
Post-scrutiny
The scrutineers add up all of the votes, and the revisers check the ballots and the names on the scrutineers’ lists to ensure that no error has been made. The ballots are then all burned by the scrutineers with the assistance of the secretary of the College of Cardinals and the masters of ceremonies. If the first scrutiny held in any given morning or afternoon does not result in an election, the cardinals proceed to the next scrutiny immediately. The papers from both scrutinies are then burned together at the end of the second scrutiny.
Fumata
Beginning in the early 1800s, the ballots used by cardinals were burned after each ballot to indicate a failed election. The lack of smoke instead signalled a successful election. Since 1914, black smoke (fumata nera) emerging from a temporary chimney installed on the roof of the Sistine Chapel indicates that the ballot did not result in an election. White smoke (fumata bianca) announces that a new pope has been chosen. In the 1939, there was some confusion over the smoke color, which was even more apparent in the 1958 conclave. The lack of sealing wax on the ballots explains the confusion over the colour of the smoke in the 1958 conclave. Since 1963, chemicals have been added to the burning process to augment the smoke’s black or white color. Beginning in 2005, a successful election is announced by bells ringing at the appearance of the white smoke. During the 2013 conclave, the Vatican disclosed the chemicals used – the black smoke is made by adding potassium perchlorate, anthracene and sulphur. The white smoke is made by adding potassium chlorate, lactose and pine rosin.
Acceptance and proclamation
Once the election concludes, the cardinal dean summons the secretary of the College of Cardinals and the master of papal liturgical celebrations into the hall. The dean then asks the pope-elect if he assents to the election, saying in Latin: “Acceptasne electionem de te canonice factam in Summum Pontificem? (Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff)? There is no requirement that the pope-elect do so, and so he is free to respond Non accepto (I do not accept). In practice, any cardinal who intends not to accept will explicitly state this before he receives a sufficient number of votes to become pope, as Giovanni Colombo did in October 1978. If he accepts, and is already a bishop, he immediately takes office. If he is not a bishop, he must be first consecrated as one before he can assume office. If a priest is elected, the dean of the College of Cardinals consecrates him bishop. If a layman is elected, then the dean first ordains him deacon, then priest, and then consecrates him as bishop. After becoming a bishop, the pope-elect takes office. These functions of the dean are assumed, if necessary, by the sub-dean. If the sub-dean is also impeded, they are assumed by the senior cardinal bishop in attendance. In 2005, the dean himself, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was elected pope, thus impeding him from the stated duties. In 2013, the dean and sub-dean were not in attendance, being over the age limit, and these functions were assumed by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. After the newly elected pope accepts his election, the dean asks him about his papal name, saying in Latin: Quo nomine vis vocari? (By what name do you wish to be called?). After the papal name is chosen, the officials are readmitted to the conclave, and the master of papal liturgical celebrations writes a document recording the acceptance and the new name of the pope.
In the past, when the cardinals voted during a conclave, they sat on canopied thrones symbolizing the cardinals’ collective governance of the church during the period of sede vacante. Upon the acceptance by the new pope of his election, all other cardinals in attendance each pulled a cord and lowered the canopies above their respective thrones, signifying an end to the period of collective governance, with only the newly elected pope’s canopy remaining unlowered. The last time canopied thrones were used was during the 1963 conclave. Beginning with the August 1978 conclave, canopied thrones were no longer used due to the lack of space resulting from the large increase in the number of cardinal electors, necessitating two rows of seats.
At the end of the conclave, the new pope could give his cardinalitial zucchetto or skull cap to the secretary of the conclave, indicating the secretary would be made cardinal at the next consistory creating cardinals. Prior to the 2013 conclave, this tradition was last followed at the 1958 conclave by the newly elected Pope John XXIII, who bestowed his cardinal’s skull cap on Alberto di Jorio and created him a cardinal at the consistory on 15 December 1958. In 2013, the Portuguese section of Vatican Radio reported that at the conclusion of the 2013 conclave, the newly elected Pope Francis bestowed his cardinalitial zucchetto on Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, the secretary of that conclave. On 22 February 2014, at Pope Francis’ first consistory, Baldisseri was formally made a cardinal with the title of Cardinal-Deacon of Sant’Anselmo all’Aventino.
The new pope then goes to the Room of Tears, a small red room next to the Sistine Chapel. The room carries the nickname because of the strong emotions experienced by the new pope. He dresses by himself, choosing a set of pontifical robes, consisting of a white cassock, rochet, and red mozzetta from the three sizes provided. He then dons a gold corded pectoral cross, a red and gold embroidered stole, and then the white papal zucchetto on his head. In 2013, Pope Francis dispensed with the red mozzetta, rochet, and gold pectoral cross, wearing only the white cassock and his own pectoral cross when he appeared on the central balcony. He did not emerge wearing the stole, vesting in it only to impart the apostolic blessing, and removing it shortly after that. Next, the protodeacon of the College of Cardinals, the senior cardinal deacon, appears at the loggia of the basilica to proclaim the new pope. He usually proceeds with the following traditional Latin formula: Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; habemus papam: Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum (given name) Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem (surname) qui sibi nomen imposuit (papal name). I announce to you a great joy; we have a Pope: The most eminent and most reverend Lord, the Lord (given name) Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church (surname) who has taken the name (papal name). During the announcement for Pope Benedict XVI’s election, the protodeacon, Cardinal Jorge Medina, first greeted the crowds with “Dear brothers and sisters” in several different languages before proceeding to the Latin announcement. This was not done when Pope Francis was elected. In the past, the protodeacon has himself been elected pope. In such an event, the announcement is made by the next senior deacon, who has thus succeeded as protodeacon. The last time the cardinal protodeacon was elected was in 1513, when Giovanni de Medici was elected as Pope Leo X and the next senior cardinal deacon Alessandro Farnese (the future Pope Paul III) made the announcement. After the election of Pope Leo XIII in 1878, Protodeacon Prospero Caterini appeared and started to make the announcement but was physically incapable of completing it, so another made it for him.
Following the announcement, the senior cardinal deacon retreats, and papal aides unfurl a large, maroon banner that out of practicality often bears the late pope’s arms in the centre, draping it onto the railing of the basilica’s loggia. During Pope John Paul II’s announcement, the inner portion of the arms of Paul VI were simply covered due to the short pontificate of John Paul I not allowing sufficient time for a banner with the latter’s arms to be created. For Francis’ announcement, there was no image of his predecessor’s arms, due to the fact that Benedict XVI was still alive.
The new pope then emerges onto the balcony to the adulation of the crowd, while a brass band in the forecourt below plays the Pontifical Anthem. He then imparts the first Urbi et Orbi blessing. The pope may on this occasion choose to give the shorter episcopal blessing as his first apostolic blessing instead of the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing. This happened most recently with Pope Paul VI after his election at the 1963 conclave. Beginning with Pope John Paul II, the last three popes elected, including Pope Francis, have chosen to address the crowds first, before imparting the Urbi et Orbi blessing. Also, at Pope Francis’ first appearance, he first led the faithful in prayers for his predecessor and then asked them to pray for himself, before imparting the Urbi et Orbi blessing. Formerly, the popes were crowned by the triregnum, or triple tiara, at the papal coronation. All popes since John Paul I have refused an elaborate coronation, choosing instead to have a simpler papal inauguration ceremony.
