Explanatory
Behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel, cardinals from all over the world will come together to choose the 267th Pope.
When the formal mourning time for Pope Francis ended, attention is now shifted to the papal conclave in the Vatican city, where mighty members of the Catholic Church work together to choose the next Pope.
Cardinals from all over the world will choose the 267th Pope, the leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world, in an event of spiritual, political and global relevance. Francis died on April 21 at the age of 88 after 12 years in the papacy.
The conclave that begins on Wednesday takes place behind the closed doors of the Sistine chapel. It generally takes several days and in some cases weeks.
Here is what we know:
What is a papal conclave?
- The term conclave comes from the Latin term “con clavis”, which means “with a key”, an indication of the tradition of locking the cardinals away until a new pope is chosen.
- In the Roman Catholic Church, a papal conclave is a ceremony of the College of Cardinale with a closed door to choose a new pope.
- Known as “Prince of the Church”, the cardinals follow a complicated and centuries -old process that is rooted in the Middle Ages.
- While traditions have developed, the current procedures are largely based on the Apostolic Constitution of 1996 Universi Dominici Gregis, which of Pope John Paul II with later changes by Pope Benedict XVI. Was issued.
- Cardinals below the age of 80, although all cardinals can take part in the meetings regardless of age. There are currently 133 legitimate voters.
What is a Pope?
- In the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope is the successor to St. Petrus, the head of the apostles of Jesus and the first leader of the early Christian church.
- As such, the Pope keeps the highest authority over the global Catholic Church in terms of faith, morality, government and discipline.
- The Pope is the spiritual leader of the Catholics around the globe, which is now supported by 252 cardinals.
- “While Pope Francis emphasized that the true power comes from Jesus Christ and that he is only a student, the Pope is undoubtedly a mighty global figure,” said Father Francis Lucas, a Catholic priest and executive director of the Catholic media network, to Al Jazera.
- The Pope typically leads the ceremonial celebrations of the church in St. Peter’s Basilica all year round. It is expected to meet more than 5,000 bishops from all over the world at least every five years. As a Bishop of Rome, he is also responsible for governing and leading the Vatican.
When does the conclave begin?
- The papal conclave is to begin on Wednesday in the Sistine chapel in the Apostolic Palace or in the papal palace in the Vatican.
- This follows the traditional nine -day mourning time for Francis.
What happens on the first day of the conclave?
10 a.m. (8:00 a.m. GMT): mass for the choice of a Pope
- The day begins with “Pro Eligendo Pontifice”, which means “for the choice of the Roman Pope”, a public trade fair in the basilica of St. Pet under the direction of the Dean of the College of Cardinal.
- It is a solemn liturgy that asks the Holy Spirit to lead the church when choosing a new Pope.
4:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. GMT): procession in the Sistine chapel
- In the afternoon, the 133 cardinal voters gather in the Pauline chapel near the Sistine chapel and sing the litany of the saints.
- “This is an old prayer of the Catholic Church, which the saints calls one in a kind of roller call one after the other,” said Steven P Millies, professor of public theology at the Catholic theological Union, a Catholic graduate school in Chicago, Illinois.
- “St. Peter, pray for us. St. James, pray for us”, … to seek the intercession of all holy men and women who went ahead of us in order to pray for the success of the conclave, “said Millies.
- You then sing the Veni creator spiritus and process it into the Sistine chapel.
- “There is also a prayer to call the Holy Spirit … full of God as well as the father and son, but the spirit that leads the church,” added Millies.
“Extra omnes”: lock the conclave
- After the expression “Extra omnes!” (“Everyone!”) Is declared and the chapel is sealed. Only the voters and the essential staff remain cut off from the outside world.
First vote
- The cardinals can hold a single voice on the first day.
Return to the residence
- They return to the Domus Santae Marthae (House of St. Martha), their secure Vatican residence, where they remain isolated for the duration of the consequence.
- “It’s a little different today than before,” said Millies.
- “In the old days they converted the salons of the Apostolic Palace with very unpleasant Cots and Pitchers of Water. … It was very uncomfortable that a room full of very old men was interrupted under such conditions, and so they added this hotel,” he added.
How does the voice release take place?
- The vote after the first day occurs a maximum of four times: twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon.
- Each cardinal receives a ballot with “Eligo in Sums Pontificem” (“I choose the top pope”) and writes in his selected candidates.
- One after the other they approach the altar in front of Michelangelo’s last dish, swear an oath and put their voices in a chalice.
- If a Pope is not selected in the first four days, the vote will be suspended on the fifth day to give time for prayer, calm reflection and informal discussions.
- A two -thirds majority is required to choose a Pope. If nobody reaches this threshold, further coordination will be held. After each round, ballot papers are burned.
- When black smoke appears on the Sistine chapel from a chimney, this means that no Pope has been selected. White smoke signals the Catholic Church has a new Pope.
- Black smoke is created by burning a mixture of potassium perchlorate, anthraces and sulfur, while white smoke results from a mixture of potassium chlorate, lactose and a needle resin mentioned as a rosing.
- The last two complies that were held in 2005 and 2013 were completed at the end of the second day of vote.
What are the challenges of the complies?
- Francis has changed the College of Cardinals significantly during his papacy and emphasized the global representation and pastoral focus. That comes with his own challenges.
- “[The Catholic Church] Is a church that has to understand how you are a church worldwide that has combined with basic things, but has to do things differently in different contexts, ”said Massimo Faggioli, professor at the Department of Theology and Religious Sciences at the University of Villanova.
- “This is the most difficult for Catholicism because there is a canonical law for the entire church, regardless of whether it is in Alaska or Indonesia, and that’s something that is the problem in the long run,” he added.
- According to experts, each cardinal brings with them their own view. Those from the global south are likely to prioritize globalization and poverty, while cardinals from Asia can seek a Pope who understands Islam and supports interreligious dialogue.
- “I think what Francis is present has these different concerns from different places to get into the dialogue together,” said Mills.
- “And one thing, I think, was the church in parts of the world in which Catholicism is a minority – where there are also Muslim majorities or other majorities. In my opinion, the experience of the Catholics in these places was very in his head when he made these decisions,” he added.
What are the main problems of the church?
- The Catholic Church is today with several challenges. Some of them include in the West, the declining number of visitors, the cultivation of secularism and the increasing number of people who say that they are not religiously connected.
- Widespread scandals for sexual abuse damage trust in church leaders Washington Postwho quoted the Vatican in reporting: “The Holy chair receives 800 cases a year from places such as Poland, Italy, Latin America and Asia.”
- Inside, the tensions between modernization reforms (on topics such as LGBTQ+ rights and roles) and traditionalist values grow.
- According to experts, however, one of the greatest challenges is to create a global church.
- “The Roman Catholic Church of the 21st century is under control with what it means to be a global church,” said Mills.
- “And what it means to be a global church in the end is that the Archbishop of New York City is just as much a Roman Catholic area as the poor baptized worker in East Timor,” he added.
What happens after the Pope was chosen?
- After a new pope has been chosen, he initially accepts the role and chooses a papal name that reflects his vision or inspiration. The previous Pope, whose real name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, chose Francis as his papal name to honor Saint Francis of Assisi.
- The new Pope then turns into white papal robes in the “room of tears”. According to reports, the room of the tears is named because many newly chosen popes are overwhelmed with emotions when they first put on the white treasury and fully grasp the weight of their new responsibility.
- Shortly afterwards, the senior Cardinal “Annuntio Vobis Gaudium Magnum; Habemuspapam! (” I cancel you a great joy; we have a pope!), From the balcony of the basilica of St. Peter, and the new pope appears to give its first public blessing.
- “The installation of the new Pope will complete this event cycle. And then we will get involved in seeing which appointments a new Pope continues in the Vatican bureaucracy,” said Mills.
- “Which new dates that the Pope makes, which he detoxifies and which he kept. This will be very interesting, like the statements that the new Pope gives,” he added.