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Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Everything That's Banned for Cardinals Inside the Conclave
Originally appeared on E! Online Voting for a new pope is no joke. Before (formerly Robert Francis Prevost) was named the successor of the late Pope Francis at the latest conclave, he—along with more than one hundred other Catholic cardinals—had to adhere to strict rules during the super secretive affair. In fact, all cardinals have to take a solemn oath to protect the secrecy of the conclave under the penalty of "automatic" excommunication ahead of sequestering for the election, according to the Universi Dominici Gregis, one of the documents used to regulate the papal election. And once the doors of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel are sealed, with the master of ceremonies declaring "extra omnes" ("everybody out") to usher those not taking part in the vote off the premise, all forms of communication with the outside world are forbidden. That means cardinals are "specifically prohibited" access to internet, social media, TV, telephones, radios, newspapers and faxes, per the U.D.G. More from E! Online Pregnant Jessa Duggar Addresses Claim She and Ben Seewald Are 'Breeding Like Rabbits' Shirtless Jason Kelce Shows Off Almost 30-Pound Weight Loss Transformation Since NFL Retirement Rose McGowan Shares Life Update 5 Years After Leaving Hollywood for Mexico To really make sure there are no leaks, the Vatican kitchen avoids serving food such as ravioli, whole chickens and pies that could easily be used to conceal messages. As for communication between cardinals? They can speak to each other and exchange views concerning the election, though they must "abstain from any form of pact, agreement, promise or other commitment of any kind which could oblige them to give or deny their vote to a person," the U.D.G. notes. While Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci's cardinal characters in Conclave—the 2024 movie centered around a fictional papal election—are close friends, real-life electors are discouraged by the U.D.G. to be guided "by friendship or aversion, or to be influenced by favor or personal relationships towards anyone" in their voting. Instead, cardinals are instructed in the U.D.G. to pray for "divine assistance" and vote for the person "who in their judgment is most suited to govern the universal Church in a fruitful and beneficial way." Per tradition, a majority vote of at least two-thirds-plus-one is needed for a candidate to be selected as the new pontiff. The Vatican announces the conclave's decision by burning paper ballots to make white smoke rise from a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, as opposed to black smoke to signify that the cardinals have yet to reach a resolution. To see all the cardinals who were in the running for pope in the latest conclave, keep reading. Pietro ParolinFridolin AmbongoLuis Antonio TagleMatteo ZuppiPeter ErdoReinhard MarxMarc OuelletRobert PrevostChristoph SchöenbornAnders Arborelius For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
New York Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Live Updates: Black Smoke Signals That Cardinals Still Haven't Chosen a Pope
The conclave to elect the next pope is now underway at the Vatican. The cardinals — the prelates who are just below the pope in the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy — will vote by secret ballot for a successor to Pope Francis until one candidate earns a two-thirds majority. While we may not know what's being said during the conclave — it is off limits to outsiders — we do have a pretty good idea what it will look like. During the gathering, the cardinals will follow specific instructions and use several distinctive objects to facilitate the process, many steeped in tradition. Here's a look at some of those objects, and the meaning behind them. Voting Instruments When the cardinals vote in the Sistine Chapel, they will be sitting in rows of simple wooden tables. At one end of the chapel, a large table is set up for those who run the voting, according to the Universi Dominici Gregis, or U.D.G., one of the documents used to govern the papal transition. The room also contains voting instruments, including an urn to receive the ballots, a set of wooden balls, and a needle and twine. The urn is used to collect the ballots, rectangular pieces of paper printed with the Latin phrase 'Eligo in Summum Pontificem' ('I elect as Supreme Pontiff'). The ballots contain a space where each cardinal writes in the name of his chosen candidate. The ballots are placed in the urn and are removed for counting after all the cardinals have voted. The wooden balls are used to keep track of the ballots. The balls have numbers written on them that correspond to the number of cardinals voting in the conclave. As the ballots are being counted, an attendant removes one of the wooden balls for each ballot, to ensure that the number matches the number of cardinals, according to The Catholic Advocate, formerly a newspaper of the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J. If the numbers don't match, the ballots must be burned without being read and another vote is conducted immediately, according to the U.D.G. As the ballots are being read, they are pierced with the needle through the word 'Eligo' and strung onto the thread, 'so that the ballots can be more securely preserved,' according to the U.D.G. Image Members of the clergy and conclave staff taking the oath of secrecy in the Pauline Chapel earlier this week. Credit... The Vatican The Oath of Secrecy The conclave is a secretive institution, and many steps are taken to prevent leaks, including restricting the cardinals' use of phones, the internet and newspapers. The members of the College of Cardinals, the body that will elect the pope, must also swear and sign an oath of secrecy, according to the U.D.G. The oath reads, in part: 'I will observe absolute and perpetual secrecy with all who are not part of the College of Cardinal electors concerning all matters directly or indirectly related to the ballots cast and their scrutiny for the election of the Supreme Pontiff.' The cardinals also must promise not to record anything in Vatican City during the time of the election. The punishment for breaking the oath is 'automatic' excommunication, according to the oath. Image A temporary stove in the Sistine Chapel in a photo provided by the Vatican. Credit... The Vatican The Stove The weekend before the conclave began, Vatican workers installed a simple stove in which ballots would be burned in the Sistine Chapel. Fire crews also installed a chimney on the roof of the chapel, where the smoke will leave the building. After each round of voting, the ballots are mixed with chemicals that, when burned, emit either black or white smoke. Black smoke means that the cardinals have not yet reached the requisite majority; white smoke means that a new pope has been elected and voting is over. The Seal At the beginning of the conclave, the Apostolic Palace, which contains the Sistine Chapel, is closed to the public. On Wednesday, members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard placed beaded ropes with the guard's seal at the entrances to the palace to ensure privacy and maintain secrecy for the cardinals. The Vatican City government also planned to deactivate cellphone service within its territory for the duration of the conclave, starting on Wednesday afternoon. The Papal Vestments After a pope is elected, he is taken to the 'Room of Tears,' a small room next to the Sistine Chapel, where he will put on the white papal cassock for the first time. Garments in three sizes are prepared and kept in the room, since no one knows who — or what size — the next pope will be. The room is known as the 'Room of Tears' because there are accounts of previous popes becoming overwhelmed with emotion in the room, and being moved to tears, after their election. After the pope puts on the vestments, he is introduced to the public for the first time.
New York Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Paper Ballots and Sacred Oaths: A Look Inside the Papal Conclave
The conclave to elect the next pope is now underway at the Vatican. The cardinals — the prelates who are just below the pope in the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy — will vote by secret ballot for a successor to Pope Francis until one candidate earns a two-thirds majority. While we may not know what's being said during the conclave — it is off limits to outsiders — we do have a pretty good idea what it will look like. During the gathering, the cardinals will follow specific instructions and use several distinctive objects to facilitate the process, many steeped in tradition. Here's a look at some of those objects, and the meaning behind them. Voting Instruments When the cardinals vote in the Sistine Chapel, they will be sitting in rows of simple wooden tables. At one end of the chapel, a large table is set up for those who run the voting, according to the Universi Dominici Gregis, or U.D.G., one of the documents used to govern the papal transition. The room also contains voting instruments, including an urn to receive the ballots, a set of wooden balls, and a needle and twine. The urn is used to collect the ballots, rectangular pieces of paper printed with the Latin phrase 'Eligo in Summum Pontificem' ('I elect as Supreme Pontiff').
Hindustan Times
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Cardinals, ballots, anticipation: How long does it take to elect a new pope
With the death of Pope Francis on April 21, the Catholic Church has entered a period of mourning and transition. The process to elect a new pope will formally begin on May 7 when cardinals gather for the Conclave. The Conclave is a secret meeting where cardinals vote to elect a new pope following the death or resignation of the current one. Voting must begin 15 to 20 days after the seat falls vacant in the Vatican City. However, if all voting cardinals are present in Rome, they can agree to start earlier. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote. Currently, there are 133 eligible cardinals, as per news agency AFP. Voting takes place in the Sistine Chapel. The cardinals begin with a Mass and then cast their first vote in the afternoon. After that, they vote four times per day — two in the morning and two in the afternoon — until a two-thirds majority is reached, as mandated to elect the pope. Each cardinal writes a name on a ballot. The ballots are then taken before three cardinals responsible for the counting of votes, called scrutineers. Once the votes are counted, all ballots are burnt. If the required majority is not reached, a chimney positioned over the Sistine Chapel emits black smoke. If the ballots are decisive, a pope is elected, and white smoke billows out of the chimney. The length of time it takes to elect a new pope varies. The longest ever conclave was in the 13th century, when the selection process lasted nearly three years — 1,006 days. However, in recent history, the process has been relatively fast. In 2013, Pope Francis was elected during the fifth ballot. Pope Benedict was chosen on the fourth ballot in 2005. The duration of a papal election largely depends on how united the cardinals are in their decision. According to 'Universi Dominici Gregis', a 1996 document regulating the conclave, if the electors fail to achieve a decisive mandate after 33 rounds of voting, the two top candidates are required to proceed to a run-off round, but still need a two-thirds majority to win. Both top candidates are not allowed to vote in this final round. (With agency inputs)
Mint
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
How long could it take for Pope to be selected? The longest conclave took...
The recent Ralph Fiennes starrer Conclave – the film may have introduced cinegoers to the spectacular ritual and drama of a modern conclave. However, the periodic voting to elect a new pope has been going on for centuries. With centuries of history, the election itself has created a whole genre of historical trivia: facts about conclaves past, the rules of voting, the timeline of selection, who was what and when, and a lot more. Here's a peek into the historic facts about the Conclave, derived from historical studies: In the 13th century, it took almost three years — 1,006 days to be exact — to choose Pope Clement IV's successor, making it the longest conclave in the Catholic Church's history. It's also where the term conclave comes from — "under lock and key," because the cardinals who were meeting in Viterbo, north of Rome, took so long the town's frustrated citizens locked them in the room. The secret vote that elected Pope Gregory X lasted from November 1268 to September 1271. It was the first example of a papal election by 'compromise,' after a long struggle between supporters of two main geopolitical medieval factions — those faithful to the papacy and those supporting the Holy Roman Empire. Gregory X was elected only after Viterbo residents tore the roof off the building where the prelates were staying and restricted their meals to bread and water to pressure them to come to a conclusion. Hoping to avoid a repeat, Gregory X decreed in 1274 that cardinals would only get 'one meal a day' if the conclave stretched beyond three days, and only 'bread, water and wine' if it went beyond eight. That restriction has been dropped. Before 1274, a pope was sometimes elected the same day as his predecessor's death. After that, however, the church decided to wait at least 10 days before the first vote. Later, that was extended to 15 days to give all cardinals time to get to Rome. According to Vatican historian Ambrogio Piazzoni, the quickest conclave to observe the 10-day wait rule was the 1503 election of Pope Julius II, who was elected in just a few hours. In more recent times, Pope Francis was elected in 2013 on the fifth ballot, Benedict XVI won in 2005 on the fourth, and Pope Pius XII won on the third in 1939. The first conclave was held in the Sistine Chapel in 1492. Since 1878, the chapel, renowned for its iconic Michelangelo's frescoes, has become the venue of all conclaves. 'Everything is conducive to an awareness of the presence of God, in whose sight each person will one day be judged,' St. John Paul II wrote in his 1996 document regulating the conclave, 'Universi Dominici Gregis.' The cardinals sleep a short distance away in the nearby Domus Santa Marta hotel or a nearby residence. Most conclaves were held in Rome, with some taking place outside the Vatican walls. Four were held in the Pauline Chapel of the papal residence at the Quirinale Palace, while some 30 others were held in St. John Lateran Basilica, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva or other places in Rome. On 15 occasions, they took place outside Rome and the Vatican altogether, including in Viterbo, Perugia, Arezzo and Venice in Italy, and Konstanz, Germany, and Lyon, France. Between 1378-1417, referred to by historians as the Western Schism, there were rival claimants to the title of pope. The schism produced multiple papal contenders, the so-called antipopes, splitting the Catholic Church for nearly 40 years. The most prominent antipopes during the Western Schism were Clement VII, Benedict XIII, Alexander V, and John XXIII. The schism was ultimately resolved by the Council of Constance in 1417, which led to the election of Martin V, a universally accepted pontiff. The cloistered nature of the conclave posed another challenge for cardinals: staying healthy. Before the Domus Santa Marta guest house was built in 1996, cardinal electors slept on cots in rooms connected to the Sistine Chapel. Conclaves in the 16th and 17th centuries were described as 'disgusting' and 'badly smelling,' with concern about disease outbreaks, particularly in summer, according to historian Miles Pattenden. 'The cardinals simply had to have a more regular and comfortable way of living because they were old men, many of them with quite advanced disease,' Pattenden wrote. The enclosed space and lack of ventilation further aggravated these issues. Some of the electors left the conclave sick, often seriously. Initially, papal elections weren't as secretive, but concerns about political interference soared during the longest conclave in Viterbo. Gregory X decreed that cardinal electors should be locked in seclusion, 'cum clave' (with a key), until a new pope was chosen. The purpose was to create a totally secluded environment where the cardinals could focus on their task, guided by God's will, without any political interference or distractions. Over the centuries, various popes have modified and reinforced the rules surrounding the conclave, emphasising the importance of secrecy. Pope John XII was just 18 when he was elected in 955. The oldest popes were Pope Celestine III (elected in 1191) and Celestine V (elected in 1294) who were both nearly 85. Benedict XVI was 78 when he was elected in 2005. There is no requirement that a pope be a cardinal, but that has been the case for centuries. The last time a pope was elected who wasn't a cardinal was Urban VI in 1378. He was a monk and archbishop of Bari. While the Italians have had a stranglehold on the papacy over centuries, there have been many exceptions aside from John Paul II (Polish in 1978) and Benedict XVI (German in 2005) and Francis (Argentine in 2013). Alexander VI, elected in 1492, was Spanish; Gregory III, elected in 731, was Syrian; Adrian VI, elected in 1522, was from the Netherlands. (With Associated Press (AP) inputs) First Published: 3 May 2025, 07:26 AM IST
