The most senior members of the catholic Church have started to process of choosing a new pope in 2025 in position of late Pope Francis. On Wednesday, the cardinal electors united inside the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.
They gathered to start the ritual, known as a conclave, to find a new pontiff. After closing the doors in the chapel, they would hold various rounds of voting as evidence was necessary to choose the 267th leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
The conclave started 16 days following Pope Francis’s death. Conclave is one of the ancient methods to choose a head of state that is still accessible in the present day. The primary protocols of the process have changed over 800 years.
To become a pope, the candidate needs to be catholic and male. For centuries, popes have been chosen from only Catholic cardinals. On Wednesday, in the conclave process, all the Vatican members took part. The last three popes were selected within three to four days.
The Cardinal electors took an oath to maintain secrecy. To become a pope, one must garner two-thirds of the votes plus one. If no conclusion is reached in the first round, then the procedure will continue on the second day.
This time, 133 cardinal electors participated in the event to hold their first round of voting in the evening. However, the voting session completed without any conclusion on a new pope. From the second day onwards, the voting event will continue each day for two rounds. One voting session will be held in the morning and the other in the afternoon.
Even after three days of voting, there is no conclusion, the process will be paused for a day. At this time, cardinals will pray and discuss their opinions. There is no appropriate time limit on how long the conclave can take. The cardinals will continue the process until they find two-thirds plus one majority on the pope selection procedure.
According to records, the shortest conclave was held in 1503. Then the cardinals took only 10 hours to select a new pope. The longest conclave took approximately 3 years.
After each round of voting, the paper ballots are set on fire. During one conclave, if a pope is not selected, black smoke rises from the chimney above the chapel. In contrast, if a pope is elected, white smoke arises from the chimney.