A conclave is how the Catholic Church picks a new leader as Pope. The current Pope, Francis, is 88 years old and is hospitalized. Francis may not live much longer, and there is precedent for abdication with the last pope, Pope Benedict XVI, resigned from the papal office because of ill health.
Pope Benedict XVI was the first Pope to resign from office since Pope Clement in 1056. The Next Pope, written in 1998, gives many facts about how a Pope is elected. The Next Pope was written near the end of the Pontificate of Pope St. John Paul the Second. Do you think Pope Francis will resign?
The Next Pope and Conclave Rules
Conclave means, in Latin, “With a Key.” It is how the Cardinals, who will elect the next Pope, are sequestered for the duration of the papal election. Only Cardinals under the age of 80 participate in the Papal election. There are currently 163 Cardinals, 110 of whom are under the age of 80. 55 of whom were made Cardinals by Pope Francis. Popes often stack the conclave with their adherents to ensure the Pope after them is of a similar vein.
The Next Pope states that during the Papal election, the members of the College of Cardinals have no communication with the outside world, including no cell phones and they are locked in the Sistine Chapel. If the Papal election lasts more than one day, the conclave will live across the street from the Sistine Chapel. They will be bussed the short distance from the hotel back to the Chapel.
The Next Pope says the next Pope is virtually guaranteed to come from the conclave. The members of the conclave vote by writing a name on a sheet of paper that says “Eligo in Summan Pontificum” or “I Elect as Supreme Pontiff,” and the members write the name of on of the cardinals in the room. If Nobody from the Conclave gets two-thirds of the vote, the ballots are burned with a chemical that produces black smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
If someone is lucky enough to receive two-thirds of the vote from the conclave, the ballots are burned with a chemical that produces white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. That is how the world knows a new Pope has been elected. Not long after that, the new Pope will appear on the balcony of his residence to greet the world.
What Happens when a Pope Dies
There is also a century-old tradition of accounting to The Next Pope when a Pope dies. The carmengo, or chamberlain, is a Cardinal and likely a conclave member. He taps the teased pontiff on the forehead with a small silver hammer to elicit a response. If the Pope is dead, the chamberlain must notify the Cardinal Vicar of Rome of the death, who will then alert the conclave and the rest of the world.
There is more. The chamberlain organizes the funeral of the deceased pontiff. World leaders will attend, so it is a big production. The chamberlain will arrange the nine days of official mourning, during which the deceased pontiff will lie in state in the Vatican Basilica. The chamberlain will then destroy the Pope’s fisherman’s ring and the lead seal he uses to make an imprimatur on official letterhead. Lastly, the chamberlain will arrange for the conclave.
Conclusion
No one knows who the next Pope will be, but it is guaranteed the next Pope will be a member of the conclave. Despite the uncertainty, a cottage industry has built up around prognosticating the next Pope. This selection will likely be made soon as Pope Francis is 88 years old and currently hospitalized. In The Next Pope, the author says the conclave does not want to select a Pope who is too young and would be Pope for too long. It will also be the case that the election of a new Pope will be world news whenever it happens.
