As the Vatican prepares to elect a successor to Pope Francis, cardinals from around the world are set to begin the secretive, centuries-old ritual of the conclave.
The 133 cardinals from 70 countries will be sequestered from the outside world, their mobile phones surrendered and cell connection around the Vatican jammed to prevent them from all communications until they choose a new leader for the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church.
Pope Francis named 108 of them, choosing many pastors in his image from countries like Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga that had never had a cardinal before.
The stage is set to open the most geographically diverse conclave in the faith’s 2,000-year history.
The late pope’s decision to surpass the usual limit of 120 cardinal electors and include younger ones from the global south — often marginalised countries with lower economic clout — has injected an unusual degree of uncertainty into a process that is always full of mystery and suspense.
Many hadn’t met one another until last week and lamented they needed more time to get to know one another, raising questions about how long it might take for one man to secure the two-thirds majority, or 89 ballots, necessary to become the 267th pope.
A final Mass, then ‘all out’
The process of the conclave starts at 10:00 CET with a Mass in St Peter’s Basilica. The dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, presides over the Mass, which is meant to be a prayer for cardinals to find the wisdom, counsel and understanding to elect a worthy new shepherd.
At 4:30 pm the cardinals will walk solemnly into the Sistine Chapel, chanting the meditative “Litany of the Saints” and the Latin hymn “Veni Creator,” imploring the saints and the Holy Spirit to help them pick a pope.
Once there, they pledge to maintain secrecy about what is about to transpire and to not allow “any interference, opposition or any other form of intervention” from outsiders to influence their voting.
After that, the retired preacher of the papal household, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, delivers a meditation. The master of papal liturgical ceremonies, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, calls out “Extra omnes,” Latin for “all out.”
Anyone not eligible to vote then leaves and the chapel doors close, allowing the work to begin.
The first vote is expected by Wednesday evening. Assuming no winner is found, the Vatican said black smoke could be expected out of the Sistine Chapel chimney at around 7pm.
The casting of the ballots
The voting process follows a strict procedure, dictated by church law.
Each cardinal writes his choice on a paper inscribed with the words “Eligo in summen pontificem” — “I elect as Supreme Pontiff.”
They approach the altar one by one and say: “I call as my witness, Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think should be elected.”
After tipping the folded ballots into an oval silver and gold urn, the ballots are opened one by one by three different “scrutineers,” cardinals selected at random who write down the names and read them aloud.
As the scrutineer reads out each name, he pierces each ballot with a needle through the word “Eligo” and binds them with thread and ties a knot. The ballots are then put aside and burned in the chapel stove along with a chemical to produce either black smoke to signal no winner, or white smoke to announce that a new pope has been elected.
From Thursday, up to two ballots can be held in the morning and two in the afternoon until a winner is found.
While cardinals this week said they expected a short conclave, it will likely take at least a few rounds of voting.
For the past century, it has taken between three and eight ballots to find a pope. John Paul I — the pope who reigned for 33 days in 1978 — was elected on the third ballot. His successor, John Paul II, needed eight. Francis was elected on the fifth in 2013.
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