How A new pope is chosen

By John Thavis, Catholic News Service

 

 

 

 

The voting by cardinals to elect the next pope takes

 

place behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel,

following a highly detailed procedure last revised by

Pope Benedict XVI.

Under the rules, secret ballots can be cast once on the

first day of the conclave, then normally twice during each

subsequent morning and evening session. Except for periodic

pauses, the voting continues until a new pontiff is elected.

Only cardinals under the age of 80 when the “sede

vacante,” or the period between the death or lawful resignation

of one pope and the election of his successor, begins are

eligible to enter the conclave and vote for the next pope. In

theory, any baptized male Catholic can be elected pope, but

current church law says he must become a bishop before

taking office; since the 15th century, the electors always have

chosen a fellow cardinal.

Each vote begins with the preparation and distribution

of paper ballots by two masters of ceremonies, who are

among a handful of noncardinals allowed into the chapel at

the start of the session.

Then the names of nine voting cardinals are chosen at

random: three to serve as “scrutineers,” or voting judges;

three to collect the votes of any sick cardinals who remain

in their quarters at the Domus Sanctae Marthae; and three

“revisers” who check the work of the scrutineers.

The paper ballot is rectangular. On the top half is

printed the Latin phrase “Eligo in Summum Pontificem” (“I

elect as the most high pontiff”), and the lower half is blank

for the writing of the name of the person chosen.

After all the noncardinals have left the chapel, the cardinals

fill out their ballots secretly, legibly, and fold them

twice. Meanwhile, any ballots from sick cardinals are collected

and brought back to the chapel.

Each cardinal then walks to the altar, holding up his

folded ballot so it can be seen, and says aloud: “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.” He places his ballot on a plate, or paten, and then

slides it into a receptacle, traditionally a large chalice.

When all the ballots have been cast, the first scrutineer

shakes the receptacle to mix them. He then transfers the

ballots to a new urn, counting them to make sure they correspond

to the number of electors.

The ballots are read out. Each of the three scrutineers

examines each ballot one by one, with the last scrutineer

calling out the name on the ballot, so all the cardinals can

record the tally. The last scrutineer pierces each ballot with

a needle through the word “Eligo” and places it on a thread,

so they can be secured.

After the names have been read out, the votes are counted

to see if someone has obtained a two-thirds majority needed

for election. The revisers then double-check the work of the

scrutineers for possible mistakes.

At this point, any handwritten notes made by the cardinals

during the vote are collected for burning with the ballots.

If the first vote of the morning or evening session is inconclusive,

a second vote normally follows immediately, and the

ballots from both votes are burned together at the end.

If a conclave has not elected a pope after 13 days, the

cardinals pause for a day of prayer, reflection and dialogue,

then move to a runoff election between the two cardinals

who obtained the most votes on the previous ballot. The two

leading cardinals do not vote in the runoff ballots, though

they remain in the Sistine Chapel.

When a pope is elected, the ballots are burned immediately.

By tradition, the ballots are burned dry—or with chemical

additives—to produce white smoke when a pope has been

elected; they are burned with damp straw or other chemicals to

produce black smoke when the voting has been inconclusive.