The conclave for the election of a new pope, a thousand-year-old Vatican secret ceremony, begins with the entrance of the cardinal elector into the Sistine Chapel, after which the master of the papal liturgical celebrations, with the exclamation "extra omnes" (all out), expels all superfluous from the room and closes the massive door behind him. Thus, the selection of the new head of the Catholic Church officially begins.
Conclave, which comes from the Latin phrase 'cum clave' meaning 'under a key', is a ritual that has accompanied the 'birth' of new popes for centuries, from the voting under Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel to the iconic white smoke that precedes the traditional proclamation 'habemus papam' (we have a pope) from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.
Before the official start of the conclave, the cardinal electors arrive in Rome and go to stay overnight at the Casa Santa Marta, the same building where the late Pope Francis chose to live, instead of in the luxurious papal apartment.
The cardinal electors, under the age of 80, gather in St. Peter's Basilica on the day of the conclave for a morning mass celebrated by the dean of the cardinals' hall, in this case the elderly Giovanni Battista Re (91).
In the afternoon, dressed in their cardinal's robes, a suit consisting of a scarlet robe, a white rocket with narrow sleeves, and a mocheta, a short cape buttoned in the front, the cardinals gather in the Chapel of St. Paul in the Apostolic Palace and invoke the help of the Holy Spirit.
After that, they begin a procession towards the Sistine Chapel, already ready for the cardinals with wooden benches set up and a furnace in which notes and ballots will be burned.
The procedure for electing a pope was modified by the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis of Pope John Paul II in 1996. The maximum number of cardinal electors is 120, but currently there are 135 with voting rights and it is not excluded, as has already happened in the past, that exceptions to the rule may be allowed.
All are prohibited from using any devices and from contact with the outside world. Only after all cardinals have taken the oath by placing their hands on the Gospel, which ends with the cry "extra omnes" (all out), does the conclave officially begin, the doors of the Sistine Chapel are locked, and voting begins.
If the conclave begins in the afternoon, there will be only one vote by the end of the day. In the following days, there will be four rounds of voting each day - two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
When they write their name on the ballot below the phrase 'Eligo in Summum Pontificem' (I vote for the Pope), each cardinal elector goes to the altar with a double-folded and clearly visible ballot. In theory, it is forbidden to give voice to oneself.
Each cardinal at the altar with the urn recites the following oath in Latin: "I call upon Christ the Lord, who will judge me, as my witness, to give my vote to the one whom I believe, in God's judgment, should be elected."
The cardinal then places the ballot in the urn and returns to his seat.
Three cardinal tellers are determined by lot, three cardinal "infirmarians" who collect the votes of sick cardinals and place their ballots in the ballot boxes on their behalf, and three cardinal auditors who check the tellers.
When the voting is over, the first two cardinal tellers open and silently read the name written on the ballot, while the third teller pronounces the written name aloud.
The leaves are then pierced and tied together, and then burned in a kiln.
The pope is elected by a two-thirds majority of the cardinal electors present. If a pope is not elected after three days, the voting is suspended for a day of prayer and reflection. New rounds of voting are then held until the final election.
The black smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel informs the public that the pope has not been elected.
When the pope is elected, the cardinal dean first addresses the elected candidate and asks him if he accepts the position and, if so, what name he chooses. Only then will the ballots be burned and white smoke released from the Sistine Chapel so that the world will know that a new pope has been elected.
Finally, the new pope will be dressed in white in the so-called "room of tears" in the sacristy of the Sistine Chapel. Then, the cardinal protodeacon, French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, will announce the election from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica. There, the new pope will then appear and deliver his blessing Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world).
Photo: EPA/Vatican Museums/ANSA
