The conclave to elect Pope Francis’s successor begins tomorrow, May 7th, 2025 with a Holy Mass to Elect the Pope (Mass pro eligendo Pontifice). This will be followed by the Cardinal’s entrance to the conclave at 15:45 Central European Summer Time (9:45 EST). According to the Vatican, no voting is expected to occur on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, the Cardinals will attend Holy Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours in the Apostolic Palace at 8:15 CEST (2:15 EST). At 9:15 CEST (3:15 EST), they will hold a prayer service in the Sistine Chapel and voting will commence. The Vatican has announced that smoke will be released around the following times on Thursday:
- 10:30 CEST (4:30 EST) if a pope is elected during the first vote
- 12:00 CEST (6:00 EST) if a pope is not elected during the first vote
- 17:30 CEST (11:00 EST) if a pope is elected during the third vote
- 19:00 CEST (13:00 EST) if a pope is not elected during the third vote
Conclave – a word derived from the Latin for “with a key” – refers to the period during which Cardinals are locked away from the public to elect a new pope. It is understood that the tradition of locking the Cardinals in while they vote was the result of the year and a half election of Pope Innocent IV (1243 AD) and the almost three-year election process of Pope Gregory X (1271 AD). During these two elections, the Cardinals were deadlocked due to various political and social issues. Frustrated during the first election, the people in the town where the election was taking place locked the Cardinals in a palace. During the second, the people were so desperate to end the election that they ripped the roof off the palace where the electors were being kept and restricted their diet to bread and water. Since that time, the tradition of locking up the Cardinals during a conclave has become emblematic of the mystery and secrecy that shrouds papal elections, as people wonder what is happening behind the Sistine Chapel’s closed doors.
It is true that the actual results of the votes of the papal election process are sealed and the Cardinals vow not to reveal what is discussed during their voting. However, the process itself is quite transparent, and the sequestered nature of the voting has important theological reasons: it makes it clear that the electors are meant to be influenced by the Holy Spirit and not by external influences.
When Pope St. John Paul II died in 2005, Father Thomas Reese explained the process to NPR in great detail (due to the comprehensiveness of his explanation, the information in this article is drawn from it unless a different source is linked). According to Father Reese, most of the work that occurs in the Vatican halts when a pope dies. While day-to-day activities can continue, all major (such as the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis that was scheduled for Divine Mercy Sunday) and controversial decisions must wait until the election of a new pope. In extreme situations, there is a process for making provisional decisions, but these are only valid until a new pope takes over and the Church is no longer sede vacante.
While most work ceases, three individuals continue in their roles after the death of a pope: the Vicar of Rome, the Major Penitentiary, and the camerlengo. Turing this transition period, these three men will continue to care for the pastoral needs of Rome, ensure that forgiveness remains available through the sacrament of confession, and that the property of the Holy See is cared for. The camerlengo also helps to organize the conclave to elect a new pope. In the wake of Pope Francis’s death, Cardinal Kevin Ferrell is the camerlengo, Cardinal Baldassare Reina is the Vicar of Rome, and Cardinal Angelo De Donatis is the Major Penitentiary.
During this time of transition, the College of Cardinals, under the leadership of the dean of Cardinals (Giovanni Battista Re), has limited power in the Church. They have been meeting daily until the conclave is held. Cardinal Re will have been involved in some of the preparations for the conclave. According to Politico, his role is important because Pope Francis’s extension of his term as dean was a way of ensuring that the Holy Father’s legacy will be defended in what is currently a tense political climate.
According to Father Reese, private discussions about who should succeed Pope Francis have been occurring since Pope Francis’s death (prior to this they were forbidden). These conversations are meant to be kept private so that they do not cause division and disruption within the Church. Additionally, since the election of a new pope is meant to be guided by God through prayerful discernment, it should not be influenced by transient political and public opinion. Sadly, we have seen that this has frequently not been the case and certain factions have been attempting to use this period without a Church leader to advance their own goals and objectives – a reality that has further wounded an already divided Church.
The conclave, which begins tomorrow, will include all 133 Cardinals who are eligible to elect the Pope (younger than 80 years old). The last Cardinals arrived in Rome on Monday. During the conclave, they will stay in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the building which held Pope Francis’s suites of private rooms during his Papacy. Prior to the beginning of the conclave, the rooms in the building will be swept for electronic bugs to ensure confidentiality.
According to a Vatican update released today, a Mass will be held in St. Peter’s Basilica tomorrow morning. At 3:45pm, the Cardinals will be transported to the Apostolic Palace for the entrance to the conclave. According to Fr. Reese’s 2005 article, there will then be a solemn procession to the Sistine Chapel where the Cardinal Electors will swear an oath to follow the apostolic constitution. After this, everyone who is not part of the conclave will be ordered out with the words, “Extra omnes” (everyone else out!) and the conclave will begin, though the Vatican has clarified that voting will not commence until the following morning. Following the declaration of “Extra omnes,” the Sistine Chapel will be set aside as a place designated to prayer and voting. Negotiations and discussions must take place outside of the Chapel.
On Thursday morning, the Cardinals will be transported to the Apostolic Palace where they will celebrate Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. They will hold a prayer service within the Sistine Chapel and voting will begin. During these deliberations, any man who is willing to be baptized and ordained as a priest and bishop could theoretically be elected pope. This means that it is possible the newly elected pope will not be present at the conclave. Realistically, however, all newly elected popes since 1378 have been Cardinals and since 1831 they have also been bishops at the time of their election.
Within the Sistine Chapel, the Cardinal Electors will vote using rectangular cards that read, “Eligo in summum pontificem” (I elect as Supreme Pontif). When marking their ballot with the chosen candidate’s name, Cardinal Electors will disguise their handwriting, then fold their card in half. The electors will then raise the cards over their heads so that it is visible and carry it to the altar where they will kneel in prayer. They will then profess, “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.” The Cardinal Electors will then place the ballot card onto a plate and use the plate to drop the ballot into a receptacle that rests on the altar. This step ensures that each Cardinal only votes once, since it is difficult to submit more than one ballot with the plate.
Each voting session will be overseen by four different scrutineers who will ensure that the election is conducted fairly. Once all the ballots for the session are collected, the first scrutineer will mix them up within the receptacle. Then the fourth scrutineer will count the ballots to ensure that the number of ballots matches the number of electors. If it does not, then all the ballots will be immediately burned and a new vote will be taken. If it does, then the first scrutineer will unfold each ballot and read the names of the proposed candidate. The second scrutineer will take the ballot from the first and record the name. Then they will pass it on to the third scrutineer who will read the written name aloud. The fourth scrutineer will take all the counted ballots and pierce them with a needle and thread through the word “eligo.” Once all ballots have been read and recorded, the ends of the thread will be tied and the entire bundle will be placed in an empty receptacle. The totals for each candidate will be tallied and then three revisers will check the tallies and ballots to ensure accuracy.
If a candidate receives two-thirds of the vote, then he will be elected pope. If no one receives the necessary two-thirds of the vote, then the vote will be considered inconclusive. The four scrutineers, the Secretary of the Conclave, and the Master of Ceremonies will burn the ballots, adding a chemical to the fire to turn the smoke black (if no pope has been elected) or white (if a pope has been elected). The smoke from these ballots will exit from a chimney that the faithful in St. Peter’s Square will be eagerly awaiting to see since it is the only way to know what is occurring behind the locked doors of the conclave. If two voting sessions occur in succession, the results of both sessions will be burned together.
After seven sessions of voting, a suspension may be called for a day so that the Cardinal Electors can pray and discuss the candidates among themselves. Then seven additional votes will occur before another suspension is called. Pope St. John Paul II revised the rules so that once this process of seven votes followed by a suspension has occurred three times, the Cardinal Electors could choose to force a vote between the two top contenders or to elect a pope based on the absolute majority. However, Pope Benedict reversed this change, so it will likely not apply during the election of Pope Francis’s successor. Conclaves last for however long it takes to elect a new pope. However, in recent times, they have not lasted longer than a week.
Once a new pope is elected, the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Re, will ask the new pope what name he will choose to go by. According to Fr. Reese, all of the Cardinals will then approach the new pope to honor and pledge their obedience to him. A prayer of thanksgiving will then be offered.
Outside of the conclave, the people waiting in St. Peter’s square will be informed that there is a new pope by the white smoke that comes from the chimney. The senior Cardinal Deacon, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, will formally announce to the people that a pope has been elected and will share his chosen name.
It is possible, though not inevitable, that the new pope will choose to address the people in the square himself at this time. He may even choose to give his first blessing “urbi et orbi” (to city and world). This would be a fitting way to take up the keys of St. Peter since Pope Francis’s final words to the Church were given in his own “ubi et orbi” on Easter Sunday just hours before his death. Whether or not the new pope chooses to address the people, his work as the leader of the Church will begin immediately.
An inauguration Mass will be held at a future date.
Following the new Pope’s election, the record of the votes will be sealed, given to the new pope, and then placed in the Vatican archives. It will only be accessed in the future with the Pope’s permission, maintaining the secrecy of the conclave and limiting potential political implications and rifts that the results might cause.
Image: “Sistine Chapel Ceiling – The Vatican” (Public Domain) by Lark Ascending
Ariane Sroubek is a writer, school psychologist and mother to two children here on earth. Prior to converting to Catholicism, she completed undergraduate studies in Bible and Theology at Gordon College in Wenham, MA. She then went on to obtain her doctorate in School and Child Clinical Psychology. Ariane’s writing is inspired by her faith, daily life experiences and education. She is currently writing a women's fiction novel and a middle-grade mystery series. Her non-fiction book, Raising Sunshine: A Guide to Parenting Through the Aftermath of Infant Death is available on Amazon. More of her work can be found at https://mysustaininggrace.com.
Popular Posts