Why Ravioli Was Banned From Papal Conclave

Miami Herald

08-05-2025

While the process of choosing a pope is secretive, one thing is certain: Cardinals have to eat.
Exactly what they eat, like so much else about the centuries-old procedure, is a mystery. However, Newsweek has gathered what clues are out there, including some surprising bans.
By the year 1550, ravioli, whole chickens and pies were some of the foods banned from being eaten in a conclave, as they were seen as risks to the secrecy that remains such a major part of the procedure.
Officials were concerned that messages, which might sway the voting, could be concealed inside the stuffed pasta or cavity of a bird.
A report of the ban comes from one of the only existing accounts of the food served in a conclave, which was written by Bartolomeo Scappi, a 16th-century chef to Popes Pius IV and Pius V.
In 1570, Scappi published the cookbook Opera dell'arte del cucinare, in which he wrote about the food served during the conclave that elected Pope Julius III.
Scappi said guards were stationed at the kitchen to prevent notes from being shared and that food was inspected by testers before being passed to cardinals through a turntable between the kitchen and inner hall.
Today, these concerns have largely faded-with digital leaks, as opposed to food-based subterfuge, being the main worry for organizers.
Modern conclaves are shielded by sophisticated anti-surveillance measures, including electronic jamming to block digital communication.
Cardinal electors have their mobile phones and any external communication devices confiscated before entering the Sistine Chapel.
Nuns at the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse where cardinals reside during a conclave, feed the clergymen.
The dishes, which are simple, are informed by the food traditions of the Italian region Lazio, where the Vatican is based.
Mauro Piacenza, an Italian cardinal, told The New York Times that the food served at Casa Santa Marta was "food you could eat at a train station."
He described the menu as containing pasta with "watery sauce," cutlets and salad. "Not exciting," he told the outlet.
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi added, "You don't eat very well."
Scappi described a slightly different culinary picture, one that included salad, fruit, charcuterie and wine.
Like much else with the Catholic Church, the food served during a conclave has changed over the years.
In 1274, Pope Gregory X-who was elected after an almost three-year-long conclave-introduced strict food rationing rules stipulating that if three days passed without cardinals reaching a consensus, they were only to be served one meal per day. After eight days, cardinals had to get by on bread and water.
Clement VI relaxed these rules in the mid-1300s, according to BBC World's Table, allowing three courses of soup, a main dish of fish, meat or eggs and dessert, which often included cheese or fruit.
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