It’s a process steeped in centuriesold rituals and arcane traditions, such as precise rules for how to bind together the tallied papal ballots with a needle and thread. But there are also modern forces at play, including stronger voices from outside Europe among the College of Cardinals that could shape the outcome of the conclave.
"This Pope has so broadened the outreach and meaning of the papacy," said Jo Renee Formicola, a professor at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, who has studied Vatican trends. "It’s clear the cardinals will have to pay attention to this."
It’s the nature of their role. The main task of a cardinal, a title granted by the Pope, is the papal selection. Privately, they always are assessing the constantly reshuffled list of "papabile," the Italian word for likely papal candidates.
The Roman Catholic Church’s most visible trend is its growing strength outside Europe — and this is reflected in the very makeup of the next conclave, bettering the prospects of Latin American or African candidates such as Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Vatican-based Nigerian, or Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes.
Asia, Africa, and Latin American account for 44 of the cardinals under 80 years old — the condition for participating in the conclave and voting for the Pope — compared with 58 from Europe. The United States, which could play an important swing role, has 11 cardinals among the 117 papal electors. When the conclave, which begins later this month, casts its final ballot, it will be the largest group ever to have decided on a pontiff.
It’s almost certain the next pope will be among them: although technically the cardinals can select any baptized male Roman Catholic, the last time they looked outside their elite group was 1378.
Many cardinals have been living here, working in Vatican posts. Others cut short trips or canceled plans and began heading to Rome.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Vatican’s commission for Christian unity, interrupted a visit to Bulgaria. Belgium’s Cardinal Godfried Danneels quickly left China. Four American cardinals were in Rome. The other seven US papal electors started making plans to come after John Paul’s death was announced late Saturday.
The papal electors will begin daily pre-conclave meetings. They will swear fidelity to the codes of secrecy, at the implicit risk of excommunication. All the cardinals then will come together in public next week for the papal funeral mass, which will be lead by the dean of the College of Cardinals. The others will take their places around the papal coffin in order of seniority.
The electors next assemble — no later than two weeks after the funeral, but no sooner than nine days after — to pick a successor to lead the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.
Here, with the electors sequestered behind the Vatican walls, begins a scene fundamentally unchanged since cardinals were given sole papal selection authority nearly 1,000 years ago.
The aura of John Paul II will be strong.
He amended conclave rules in 1996 with his document "Universi Dominici Gregis," or "Shepherd of the Lord’s Whole Flock," which bolstered and updated the conclave rules. Each cardinal will place his hand on the Gospels for an oath pledging loyalty to the next pope and to promising never to reveal what occurred in the chamber.
According to procedures outlined by the Vatican, the cardinals will first assemble in the Pauline Chapel, decorated with Michelangelo frescoes to Saints Peter and Paul, and sing a Latin hymn "Veni Creator," which seeks guidance from the Holy Spirit.
Then they move into the Sistine Chapel, under Michelangelo’s majestic "The Last Judgment."
It will be a new experience for nearly all the papal electors.
Only a handful took part in the 1978 election of the first Polish-born pontiff, which took eight ballots over two days. The cardinals 80 or older cannot attend.
Aides and others accompany the cardinals into the chapel. A meditation is offered on the qualities needed for the next pope and the challenges ahead for the church.
"Extra omnes," an official then cries, Latin for "all out," except the cardinals.
And those left behind cannot leave until a pope is selected unless for a medical emergency. In that case, special arrangements are made for the cardinal to vote from his sickbed.
In the past, makeshift quarters were created in and around the Sistine Chapel. Cardinals accustomed to first-class luxury were forced to sleep in corners of salons or in stairwells. This time, the cardinals will be staying at the $20-million Domus Santae Marthae, a hotel-style site within the Vatican with 108 suites and 23 single rooms, all with baths. The rooms are assigned by lot during a conclave.
But one thing will not change: the attempt to block all outside influences. There is no television, publications, telephone access, or anything else that could be used to sway cardinals. Technicians will sweep the area for any bugs or evidence of high-powered eavesdropping devices being aimed from outside the Vatican walls.
Windows are closed and curtains drawn.
In 1243, the Senate and people of Rome broke a year-and-a-half deadlock by locking the cardinals until they finally elected a new pope. In 1271, the cardinals were not only locked up, but were put on a diet of bread and water until they could agree.
The pope chosen in 1271, Gregory X, formalized these drastic measures as conclaves. Despite his efforts, 29 subsequent conclaves lasted more than a month. But no conclave since 1831 has lasted more than four days.
Initially, a two-thirds majority is needed. But John Paul amended the rules to allow for a simple majority after a three rounds of balloting and pauses.
Even the voting is rich in ritual. Each cardinal approaches the altar in the Sistine Chapel, kneels and prays, and uses a large plate to slide his ballot into a chalice. Three cardinals, given the role of "scrutineers," count the ballots: the first two remove and tally the votes; the third announces the names and then passes a needle through the first word printed on the ballots, "Eligo in summen pontificem," or "I elect as Supreme Pontiff."
The ballots are tied together by string and burned along with a special chemical. Black smoke signifies the voting will continue. White smoke means a new pope has been elected.
The new pope must utter the word "Accepto," or I accept, to formally seal the selection.
Within hours, a senior cardinal will appear at the central window in St. Peter’s Basilica. A brief announcement will end with "Habemus papam" — "We have a pope."
The new pontiff will then look out over St. Peter’s Square.
What happens after a Pope dies
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) — When a pope dies, the Roman Catholic Church begins the elaborate rituals that mark the end of one papacy and the start of the next.
Here is a guide on what happens:
The pope’s camerlengo (chamberlain) has to officially confirm his death and then seals his private apartment and prepares the funeral and the conclave to elect a successor.
The camerlengo and three assistants chosen by lot from among the cardinal electors decide when the pope’s body is to be taken into St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing. They also make sure the pope’s "Fisherman’s Ring" and his lead seal are broken so they cannot be used by anyone else. No autopsy is performed.
Funeral rites last nine days, with the date of the funeral and burial to be decided by the cardinals between the 4th and 6th day after his death. Popes are laid to rest in the crypt underneath St. Peter’s Basilica. They are traditionally buried in a casket of cypress wood which is sealed inside a larger lead casket and then covered with an outer pine box.
The College of Cardinals oversees day-to-day business during the interregnum. Their power is limited and much of the central church administration grinds to a halt.
The conclave to elect a new pope starts in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel between 15 and 20 days after the death. The cardinals, who are confined to the Vatican for the duration of the conclave, decide the exact day. For the first time, they will not live in the chapel or nearby rooms in the Vatican Museum, but in a new residence on Vatican grounds.
There are 117 cardinals under the age of 80 and so eligible to vote. Only two were not appointed by John Paul II.
When the conclave has elected a pope, he is asked if he accepts and which name he wishes to take. Once this is done, he dons papal vestments — tailors keep several sizes ready — and sits on a throne in the Sistine Chapel to receive the other cardinals who file up to pay homage and pledge obedience.
The world will know a pope has been elected when an official burns the paper ballots with special chemicals to make white smoke pour out of the chapel’s chimney. They use other chemicals to make black smoke indicating an inconclusive vote.
Soon afterwards, the dean of the College of Cardinals steps on to the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to announce to the crowds in the square "Habemus papam" (We have a pope). The new pope then appears in his papal robes and gives the crowd his blessing.
2 Philippine cardinals eligible to vote
Out of the three cardinals in the Philippines, only two are still eligible to vote for the next head of the Roman Catholic Church.
The two who are eligible to vote are Archbishop Emeritus of Manila Jaime Cardinal Sin and Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.
The third cardinal, Jose Tomas Sanchez, Prefect Emeritus of the Pontifical Commission on the Clergy in Vatican, will no longer be eligible to vote since he is already 85 years old.
But although Sin and Vidal are still eligible to vote, only one of them is sure to attend.
An officer from the Archdiocese of Manila yesterday said they cannot at the moment say whether Cardinal Sin will be able to attend the conclave or not due to his present health condition.
This was because the cardinal, who retired in 2003, has been in and out of the hospital also.
Cardinal Vidal, on the other hand, is set to leave the country next week for Rome to attend the gathering as confirmed by his secretary.
If both cardinals will be able to attend the conclave, then they will able to join other qualified cardinals from around the world.
Of all the 183 living cardinals posted at the Vatican website, 117 are eligible to vote and these include Sin and Vidal. (Leslie Ann G. Aquino)
