After a Pope dies, the Catholic Church chooses its next leader through an old electoral process called “papal conclave.”
In practice, from at least 1276, the conclave compiles the best bishops of the Church, called the Cardinals College, from all over the world. He thought that there are currently more than 240 cardinals, only those under 80 are eligible to vote in the conclave and the number of cardinal voters is limited to 120.
Almost all the prefects of the Vatican offices lose their work when a Pope dies, but some remain, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the master of liturgical ceremonies, who play a key role in the assembly of the conclave.
The conclave takes place in the Vatican Sistine Chapel and the cardinals remain in strict isolation to keep them away from any external influence from the rest of the world. This isolation is so important in the process that also the name of the conclave comes from the Latin “with Clavis”, that means “with key”, which indicates how cardinal voters are blocked some that deliberate who will be the new Pope.
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There is also an emphasis on choosing a Pope quickly for classes of the amount of time that the Church passes without a leader. The cardinals cast their first vote on the day the conclave begins. Then they cast votes at least twice a day later, in the morning and night, until a Pope is selected.
The common practice in the modern Catholic Church is that the cardinals choose a Pope among their own ranks, he thought that this was not the case.
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We agree will generally begin with a special mass held in the Basilica of San Pedro, in which the cardinals invoke the Holy Spirit to obtain guidance.
Cardinals vote for the Pope through a secret vote. In each vote, a cardinal will write his choice on a sheet of paper, will process the giant fresco of Michaelangelo of The Fast Judgment, who sings a reminder of gravity and holiness of his responsibility, and will drop his vote in a chalice.
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The Cardinals of the Catholic Church attend the electoral conclave in the Sistine Chapel on April 18, 2005, in the Vatican. (Arturo Mari – Vatican Pool/ Getty Images)
A majority of two thirds of the votes are needed to select a new Pope. More than two thirds of the eligible cardinal voters were appointed by Pope Francis. However, these cardinals have a set of diverse points of view and come from all different parts of the world.
After each vote, the ballots are burned and the ashes are used to send a signal to the rest of the world about whether a decision has been made. The black smoke that rises from the Sistine chapel means that it does not have a consensus, while the white smoke means that a Pope has been chosen.
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Gerhard Ludwig Cardenal Müller, right, duration of a town hall in the Basilica of San Pedro. (Johannes Neudecker/Picture Alliance)
Once a cardinal receives a majority of two thirds of the votes, the dean of the Cardinals College asks if he is willing to accept the position. If you accept, you must choose your papal name. Cardinal José Mario Bergoglio chose the name “Pope Francis”, becoming the first Pope to choose this name.
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After the world is alerted through the burning of white smoke, the new Pope is announced with the highest cardinal who proclaim “Habemus Papam!” – “We have a Pope” – after which the newly chosen pontiff processes and teaches his first blessing to the city of Rome and the rest of the world.