
Meet the 4 Indian cardinals who will be part of conclave to elect new Pope
The Catholic Church has entered a period of sede vacante following the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, April 21. The 88-year-old pontiff passed away at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta due to a stroke and heart failure, the Vatican announced.The passing of the Pope sets in motion preparations for a conclave, a secret meeting where cardinals will choose a new leader for the world's 1.3 billion Catholics. Among the cardinal electors are four from India, including two from Kerala, according to an ANI report.Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, 72, Archbishop of Goa and Daman and Patriarch of the East Indies. He also serves as President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India and the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, 64, Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, based in Thiruvananthapuram, and President of the Synod of the Syro-Malankara Church.Cardinal Anthony Poola, 63, Archbishop of Hyderabad, who made history as the first Dalit cardinal.Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, 51, a Changanassery native, Cardinal-Deacon of S. Antonio di Padova a Circonvallazione Appia, and Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. Koovakad had also coordinated Pope Francis's international visits since 2021.advertisementRoughly 135 cardinals under the age of 80 are expected to gather in the Sistine Chapel for the cloistered voting session. The conclave typically begins two to three weeks after the Pope's funeral.
During the conclave, cardinals take turns casting ballots with the Latin inscription "I elect as Supreme Pontiff" into a silver and gilded urn. Voting continues up to four times a day until a candidate receives a two-thirds majority.The public will have only one indication of the conclave's progress: smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney. Black smoke signifies no decision, while white smoke signals that a new pope has been chosen."The new pope will be announced with the words 'Habemus Papam,'" the BBC reported, "and will then appear on the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica to deliver his first blessing."Papal conclaves are notoriously unpredictable due to the strict secrecy surrounding the election process. Once the cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel, they are cut off from all outside communication until a new Pope is elected.Tune InMust Watch
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