The 133 cardinals authorized to vote are preparing to elect the new pope during the conclave. An essential event for the Catholic Church which will take place in the coming weeks.
Who will be the successor to Pope Francis? Since his death on April 21, this is the question that has burned the lips of all the faithful and the Catholic Church. To find out the name of the new sovereign pontiff, an essential event must take place: the conclave. But it is better not to be in a hurry, it will be necessary to wait several weeks before the white smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and that the phrase “Habemus papam” is pronounced.
A period of nine -day mourning must first be respected: the November. Then, the famous conclave – which allows the new Pope to be elected – can only take place two to three weeks after the death of the Sovereign Pontiff. The conclave will therefore begin between May 5 and 10. On this occasion, the college of the cardinals will meet in camera in the Sistine Chapel to exchange and carry out successive votes until appointing a Pope. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are allowed to vote. Two of those who are called “cardinals voters” recently withdrawn for health reasons. They will therefore be 133 and not 135 to choose the successor of Pope Francis, who must be elected by the majority of two thirds of the Assembly.
How does the conclave go?
Once the conclave is combined, the appointment of a pope can be fast as taking a lot of time if no name manages to obtain the majority of votes. The cardinals can proceed up to four votes a day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. After each vote, the bulletins are stripped and then burned and the results are announced in the outside world by a smoke signal rising by the chimney of the Sistine Chapel: black smoke means that no pope has been elected, white smoke that the conclave has agreed on the name of a new Pontiff sovereign. Smoke signals are generally expected around 12 noon and around 7 p.m., but they can be offset from the first midday vote ends.
“We have to wait, pray, and come together,” said Cardinal Fernando Filoni, grand master of the equestrian order of the Holy Spulcher of Jerusalem, when he is questioned about his intention to vote, words relayed by France Info. After the elevation of white smoke, a representative of the Cardinals College pronounces the Latin phrase “Habemus Papam” from the Balcony of the Saint-Pierre Basilica. Then, the new Saint-Père having chosen his papal name and put on his white cassock delivered his first speech before the faithful.
The conclave, like the funeral, follows a protocol: the cardinals dine together the day before the beginning of the conclave and participate the following morning in the mass “Pro Eligendo Papа” chaired by the dean Giovanni Re. They go in procession to the Sistine Chapel where only cardinals voters are invited. Each day, before the first voting in the morning, the cardinals recite the lauds. They recite the vespers after the second voting in the afternoon. Be careful, this ballot is highly secret and requires cardinals to remain cloistered in the Vatican, cut off from the world, as long as a new Saint-Father is not elected.
Who can succeed Pope Francis?
If theoretically all baptized men can claim papacy, in practice the Pope has been systematically chosen from cardinals for several hundred years. The election is generally played between a handful of cardinals. Pope Francis worked during the last months of his pontificate so that his successor has the same ambitions as him for the church. Despite certain criticisms, Pope Francis was considered progressive, especially for reforms that have grown towards more female inclusiveness in key positions, for the strengthening of financial transparency within the Church, for the fight against sexual abuse … Reforms which he did not want them to be dismantled after his departure.
Pope Francis has taken certain measures, according to the Belgian media La Libre. He extended the mandate of Cardinal Giovanni Battista as dean of the Cardinals College, a central place in the conclave which will designate the next Pope. His position will allow him a greater influence on the pope’s election.
As for the candidates, three names return particularly to the table when it comes to the succession of Pope Francis: Pietro Parolin, Matteo Maria Zuppi and Pierbattista Pizzaballa. The first is an Italian cardinal, secretary of state and number 2 of the Vatican, but deemed too “erased” to take the head of the Holy See. The second is Archbishop of Bologna, but tried too close to the Sant’Egidio movement, an association of Catholic faithful. Finally, the third is the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and is tried too young to exercise these functions, from the top of its 58 years. Two other profiles draw attention: first French Jean-Marc Aveline. The religious is also a relative of the deceased sovereign pontiff and he shares with him several political ideas on tolerance about migrants and the vision of a less European-centered church. Conversely, the figurehead of the ultra-conservative current in the Catholic Church, the Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, 79, also emerges as one of the favorites to succeed Pope Francis.
07:30 – A new pope “unifying” or “conservative”? Indecisive cardinals
The conclave will start on May 5 or 6, after the nine days of mourning in the Vatican. But then, what profile do the cardinals want to turn to? For Cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo, bishop of Ajaccio, “we must not be in the tactic, in the strategy. We must be in service and in responsibility. We will listen to our colleagues cardinals, (…) Discern with them and at the end, we will decide”, he explained.
For his part, Mgr Hollerich judges that it is necessary to opt for “a simple man”, “not too young and not too old”, “a man who can be in contact with people, who knows how to listen to people on the left and right,” he said. However, “a pope is still a unifier,” he abounds. On the other hand, for the very conservative Gerhard Müller, seeing an elected progressive would not really be good news: “The question is not between the conservatives and the liberals but between orthodoxy and heresy,” the German cardinal told the British newspaper The Times.
04/25/25 – 13:15 – A conclave that could be long
Since 1903, no conclave has lasted more than five days. But it could be different this time. Indeed, Pope Francis has very little brought together the Cardinals College, which is now responsible for electing his successor. The cardinals therefore know each other, which could make the conclave longer. Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne, Rainer Maria Woelki, also plans “a long conclave, because we know little”.
04/25/25 – 12:31 – How long did the longest conclave last?
It took more than two years to elect Pope Grégoire X. Viterbe’s conclave lasted from the end of the year 1268 in September 1271. After a year of discussions without elected pontiff, the population of Viterbe locked up the cardinals with a key (Cum clave in Latin) in the pontifical palace. Access is walled and cardinals are fed at the point and water. But a year later, still no pope was elected. So, they are removed from the palace to be exposed to bad weather. Under pressure from the King of France Philippe III, voters agree to designate a commission of six of them are responsible for the election. Although he is not yet a priest, Grégoire X is designated. He is then in a crusade in the Holy Land. He will institute the confinement of the cardinals for the election of his successors in order to accelerate the process.
04/25/25 – 11:45 am – Why are the cardinals voters for total isolation during the conclave?
The 133 cardinals who will have to elect the next pope will be in total isolation during the conclave. No contact with the outside of the Vatican, a ban on leaving the city, no mobile phone … This isolation appeared in the 13th century. The goal was to accelerate the process while allowing the clergy to escape political pressures.
The decision was made after the election of Célestin IV, in 1241. At that time, the popes were chosen by the Clergy of Rome, the population and the European monarchs. But the emperor Frédéric II decided to retain in hostage twelve cardinals under close surveillance so that they elect the next pope. For 60 days, they are locked up in deplorable hygiene conditions with a refusal of care of the sick. One of the cardinals died during these two months and the Roman people threaten to unearth the body of the previous pope, tired of waiting for the election of the next sovereign pontiff. The religious finally managed to decide for Célestin IV, but he died 15 days later, probably because of the abuse.
Next comes the longest conclave, which lasted almost two years, during which the cardinals were locked up and fed on bread and water, leading to the election of Grégoire X, which makes the confinement of the cardinals compulsory during the election of the next Pope. Today the cardinals are much better treated, but the tradition has remained. They are housed in beautiful apartments and some even have very specific requests, in terms of food in particular, far from the piety which the members of the clergy must demonstrate.
04/25/25 – 11:09 am – How long can the conclave last?
We know that the conclave will take place between May 6 and 10, but we do not know the exact date of the election of the next Pope. Indeed, a conclave has no fixed duration. As the tradition wants, the cardinals voters meet in the Sistine Chapel and proceed to 4 votes not days, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, until one of them bring together the majority of two thirds of the votes. There is no limit and this merry -go -round can last days. If after 3 days of voting, no successor is found, the cardinals make a day of break and organize a mass to ask for the lighting of the Holy Spirit. This can last several weeks, although since 1903, no conclave has lasted more than five days.