This blog is designed to help non-Catholics, and even some Catholics, on understanding the process of selecting a new pope, what popes are, and what they are not…
The Process…
When a pope dies, or retires (abdicates), the Catholic Church goes into a period called interregnum (Latin: between reigns), meaning “between the reign of two popes.” This means the symbolic Chair of Peter (meaning the papal office) is officially sedevacante (Latin: empty chair). This simply means there is no pope.
A viewing and funeral will follow, if applicable, and it is during this time the cardinals from around the world will begin showing up in Rome to prepare for the conclave (Latin: together key), which means a private meeting, where the doors are locked. That is to say, not open to the general public. A spiritual meaning can be applied to this word as well, which is to say a private meeting to determine who will hold the symbolic “Keys of St. Peter” next. This comes from the exchange that Jesus Christ had with St. Peter recorded in Matthew 16:13-20.
A cardinal is usually a bishop, any kind of bishop, though it can sometimes be a priest or deacon. Cardinals have high-ranking juridical authority in the Church, which means their teaching can apply anywhere, not just in their own dioceses, and they can participate in any church function anywhere throughout the globe, with or without the permission of the local bishop. This is called “universal jurisdiction.” However, the most important job a cardinal has is electing a new pope. These are specially selected members of the clergy who have been entrusted with this task. A cardinal wears red, hence the name, symbolizing blood, which is a sign of their willingness to defend the Catholic Faith, even to the point of martyrdom. (Some cardinals live up to that expectation, others don’t.) A cardinal is made by the pope, in what is called a consistory (Latin: council chamber) which is usually a very public event, unlike the conclave.
When the conclave begins, there is usually a ceremony at the Vatican, typically a Holy Mass, and then the cardinals move to the Sistine Chapel for the conclave. A small section of the Vatican is closed-off for the purpose of the conclave. This is an area that includes the Sistine Chapel and small apartments for the cardinals to reside while they are voting. They are supplied with all their nutritional, sanitary and medical needs while they live there, but they are not allowed to leave after the conclave begins. Furthermore, they are not allowed to have any contact with the outside world until the conclave is over. This means they are completely sequestered (Latin: set aside), meaning they cannot speak with anyone, outside of the conclave of cardinals, until the conclave is over. Of course, if there is a medical emergency, the conclave will stop, and the cardinal needing medical attention will be taken out for treatment. Then the conclave will resume.
Inside the conclave, some speeches are given, as to why one candidate might be better than another, or about what the Church really needs at this time in history, etc. They also spend time in prayer, both private and communal. In between those speeches and prayers, they vote for who the next pope should be. This is done by paper ballot, wherein each cardinal places it into the box himself. So there is often a line as they approach the box, one by one. The ballots are counted and then the ballots are destroyed. There is usually only one round of voting on the first day. During the following days, there can be as many as two in the morning, and two in the afternoon. Rarely ever is there more than four rounds per day, but exceptions can be made.
To get a new pope, there must be a two-thirds (2/3 or 66%) majority among the cardinals in conclave. So unless they all agree up front, it’s unlikely they’ll reach the necessary two-thirds majority on the first round of ballots. It usually takes multiple rounds to get to the two-thirds majority.
The cardinals are free to elect anyone they want as pope. The only requirement is that he be a baptized Catholic man (not a boy, girl or woman). Typically, however, the cardinals usually choose from among themselves. For an election to be valid, it must be free of outside interference. If it is later determined that some cardinals may have been coerced or bribed by outside influencers (governments, political parties or military), then the election can be declared invalid, and the pope elected declared an antipope (meaning an “impostor pope”). This would result in the nullification of his entire papacy and everything he did, outside of routine administrative stuff.
After each round of ballots and votes, if the required two-thirds (2/3 or 66%) majority has not been reached on any one candidate, the ballots are destroyed through incineration. They are burned in an oven. A chemical is placed in the fire, with the ballots, that insures that the smoke will be pitch black as it exits the chimney. The chimney can be viewed from outside the Sistine Chapel in St. Peter’s Square. This is the only communication the conclave has with the outside world. Black smoke means the conclave voted, and they were unable to reach a two-thirds consensus at this time.
If, however, a two-thirds consensus is reached, then the cardinal they voted for is singled out and asked a question: Tu es Petrus? (Latin: Are you Peter?) The chosen cardinal then has the option to accept or refuse the papal office. If he refuses, he simply says: No. If he accepts, then he says the word: Accipio (Latin: I accept). The room typically bursts into applause, and cardinals are given the opportunity to congratulate the new pope.
The ballots used to elect the new pope are incinerated as well, but this time when placed in the oven, a chemical is used to make the smoke white when it exits the chimney. This is the first indication the general public has that a new pope has been elected. Shortly, thereafter, the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica begin to ring. This is to alert all the citizens of Rome that a new pope has been elected, and give as many as possible some time to gather in the public square.
While this is happening, the new pope is ushered into a changing room, where a number of white cassocks (of all different sizes) await him. He then changes into the white cassock that fits. Later, he will have white cassocks custom fit for him. This is why the cassock usually looks a little oversized when the pope is first presented to the public. It’s not a perfect fit yet.
As soon as he is ready, and the accompanying cardinals are ready, the announcement is made from the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square: habemus papam! (Latin: we have a pope!) His name is read, and followed with the new name he has chosen to be called by as pope. Usually, the name he chooses gives some kind of indication as to what kind of pope he hopes to become. The new pope then gives his first address.
There is a doctrine and a superstition that has developed around the conclave process of selecting a new pope. The doctrine is simple. If the cardinals are open and receptive to the assistance of the Holy Spirit, then He will help them decide who the next pope should be. However, the superstition that has developed around this doctrine is that the Holy Spirit actually decides who the new pope is, and then tells the cardinals how they should vote. (After the 2013 conclave, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles actually claimed, ridiculously, that he felt the Holy Spirit moving his hand when he voted.) Obviously, the doctrine is real, but the superstition is not. Everyone has free-will, even a cardinal in conclave. Cardinals can listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, or they can just ignore Him and do their own thing and vote for whomever they want. Both have happened in the past, and this is why we get both good popes and bad popes. Good popes are popes who were elected by humble cardinals who honestly tried to discern the will of the Holy Spirit through prayer. Bad popes are popes who were elected through politics, with lobbying cardinals, electioneering, and voting for a candidate who they like (a popularity contest), or voting for a candidate who they think will perform a specific task or agenda they like. Both kinds of popes, good and bad, can be found throughout history.
The Papal Office…
The pope is the successor of St. Peter, which means that St. Peter occupied the office of the papacy first, and then it was handed down through the generations until now. The pope has many duties and functions in the Church. He’s an important part of the Catholic Church, but he is not its king or head. That title belongs to Jesus Christ alone. Think of the pope as the office of prime minister to Jesus the King. A king can have many prime ministers during his lifetime. Since Christ the King is over 2,000 years old, he’s gone through many prime ministers (popes) during his immortal lifespan.
As prime minister, the pope serves many roles. Primarily, he is the chief bishop, whom all the other bishops of the Catholic Church must answer to. He is also the universal pastor of the Catholic Church. As chief administrator of the Church, his job is to also appoint new bishops, and draw out new church territories called dioceses. A diocese is the area a bishop governs Catholics in. Usually a single diocese consists of a city and/or surrounding areas. The pope is also in charge of settling doctrinal questions and procedural disputes. He usually delegates most of this to his subordinates at the Vatican, and the Vatican itself is the bureaucratic instrument that serves at the pleasure of the pope, to help his administrative process. Occasionally, however, some topics become so big that they require the hand of the pope himself to settle them. This is what papal documents are all about.
A common misconception is that the pope is sinless. He is not. The pope must go to confession just like all other Catholics. Likewise, another misconception is that the pope is always infallible (without error) in all of his official acts. This is also false. While the pope may rely on infallible teachings in the past, to formulate his own teachings, that doesn’t mean his own teachings are always without error (infallible).
The one and only time a pope is guaranteed infallibility by the Holy Spirit is when he speaks ex cathedra (Latin: from the chair) meaning he is invoking his role as the pope, the successor of Peter, and he is very specifically defining what is infallible in an easy-to-understand way, he declares it infallible, and then pronounces judgement upon anyone in the Church who would dare to oppose him on this.
Such acts are extremely rare in the modern papacy. The last time an ex cathedra decree was published was in 1950, in a document called Munificentissimus Deus (Latin: The Most Bountiful God), wherein the dogma of Mary’s Assumption was defined as infallible. The Church had always taught this, but there was some dispute as to the timing of her Assumption into Heaven. Munificentissimus Deus settled this infallibly, saying that it happened at the end of her earthly life. No ex cathedra papal decrees have been issued since.
The pope serves as prime minister of Christ the King, and he serves as supreme pastor over the whole Catholic Church. He is also the Archbishop over the City of Rome (Roman Diocese). Likewise, a pope does serve as a literal monarch, over the Vatican City-State, but that is just over the walls off the Vatican compound and everything inside. His monarchal role is absolute, meaning there is no restriction to his monarchal power over the Vatican compound, and there is no parliament. Outside of the Vatican compound, however, the pope has no civil authority.
Popes are not oracles or gurus. They don’t channel the divine. Popes are not demigods. They don’t have any divinity themselves, nor are they related to divinity. While there is usually a lot of excitement and fanfare whenever a pope arrives somewhere, this should not be mistaken for worship. People are just excited to see him, in the same way they might be when they see a popular music band or movie star.
Shane Schaetzel is an author of Catholic books and he is an Evangelical convert to the Catholic Church. His articles have been featured on LifeSiteNews, The Remnant Newspaper, Forward in Christ, and Catholic Online. You can read Shane’s books at ShaneSchaetzel.Com
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