How the Catholic church selects a new pope: Inside the Vatican's secret conclave

How the Catholic church selects a new pope

As the papal conclave starts on May 7 within the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, the world shall wait anxiously, observing a chimney for the iconic sign: black smoke to indicate no decision, white smoke to signal a new pope. While millions assemble and the media worldwide waits nearby, the actual process takes place in deep secrecy, adhering to rituals polished over centuries.

As the Catholic Church is set to choose its new head, the conclave's sacred rituals, stagey symbolism, and stringent protocols unveil both history's burden and the future stakes, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A meeting of the cardinals

The conclave consists of 135 voting cardinals called from across the globe — all under the age of 80 on the date the last pope passed away. While Pope Paul VI had wished to restrict the number of electors to 120, the last few popes, including Francis, have permitted the figure to rise above that threshold.

During the pre-conclave days, cardinals gather at the Paul VI Audience Hall within the Vatican. Initial discussions provide candidates with an opportunity to speak and others with the opportunity to advocate for possible front-runners, influencing the atmosphere prior to formal voting.

Cardinals stay at the Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse throughout the process, commuting to and from the Sistine Chapel every day under tight security.

Secrecy at the Sistine Chapel

Once within the chapel — beneath Michelangelo's great frescoes — the cardinals and staff officers swear a strict oath of silence. Contact with the outside is prohibited. Surveillance equipment is cleaned out of the chapel, ad hoc flooring and voting tables are set up, and wireless jammers are distributed to ensure complete isolation.

Any cardinal who departs the conclave due to reasons other than physical illness or ordinary needs loses his place in the proceedings.

The process of voting

Each cardinal inscribes the name of his preferred candidate on a paper ballot. In seniority order, the cardinals then put their ballots into an urn at the altar. They are counted and read aloud.

If no one receives a two-thirds majority, the votes are incinerated with additives to create black smoke, indicating to the gathered crowds that no pope has yet been elected.

There can be up to four votes a day. If after 33 or 34 votes there is no winner, the regulations specify a runoff between the top two candidates.

As soon as a cardinal reaches the two-thirds majority, the ballots are incinerated with dry straw and chemicals to produce white smoke — the indicator that a new pope has been elected.

Acceptance and announcement

Following the election, the selected cardinal is requested if he will take up the role and what name he will have as pope. As soon as he puts on the white cassock, the most senior Cardinal Deacon comes onto the middle balcony of St. Peter's Basilica and, in a loud voice to the gathered populace, announces, "Habemus Papam" — "We have a pope."

The new pope then proceeds to give his first blessing, the "Urbi et Orbi" ("to the city and to the world"), officially starting his reign as the head of the Catholic Church.

A moment through the ages of world importance

Although the inner mechanics of the conclave are concealed, its decision affects the entire globe. It is a time when ancient ceremony mixes with contemporary application, as the new pope emerges to guide more than a billion Catholics in a period of dramatic change and crisis.

And when the Vatican begins preparation for May 7 conclave, eyes and hearts — all of them — will turn again to the Sistine Chapel for the sign that history was created.