Catholic cardinals from all around the the world will be locked in the Vatican today to decide on the successor to Pope Francis in the most secretive and ancient democratic process in the world
IT is an suspense-filled thriller steeped in mystery, history and political intrigue – not the Oscar-winning Hollywood movie, but the actual conclave which kicks off at the Vatican today.
The election of the new pope is the most secretive democratic process in the world, with even its name – from the Latin ‘cum clave’, or ‘with key’ vividly conveying its clandestine nature. And the man who emerges wearing white is one of the world’s most powerful leaders, considered the successor of St Peter, the first apostle, and leader of 1.4billion Catholics.
Since Pope Francis’ death 15 days ago cardinals from all over the world – known as the ‘princes of the church’ – have been making their way to Rome, where there have been meeting daily as the numbers of participating clerics gradually grew.
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By Monday, the 133 cardinals under 80 who are eligible to vote for Francis’ successor had arrived at the Vatican, signalling that the secret conclave can begin.
Today, the scarlet-clad men will make their way from their lodgings in the Vatican’s St Martha’s House to the Sistine Chapel. Both places have already been swept for electronic bugs, jamming devices installed, and special coatings have been placed on windows to stop laser scanners picking up anything audible.
The rooms the cardinals are sleeping in have been drawn by lot, windows have been blacked out and even the menu is restricted – foods in which messages could be concealed, like pies or chicken, are banned.
The clerics hand in the their phones and swear an oath of secrecy, along with all staff such as cooks, housekeepers and doctors, with an ominous clause that anyone who leaks conclave details will be automatically excommunicated from the church forever. Cardinals must also avoid newspapers, radio, television and the internet.
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The conclave proper begins with a cry of ‘Extra omnes’ – or ‘Everybody out’ – an order for non-voters to make themselves scarce. There are no speeches or debate inside the chapel, just silent votes, the first of which is expected to take place this afternoon.
From the second conclave day the cardinals vote four times a day – twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon – burning their ballot papers after every second vote, until they reach a two-thirds majority. Each cleric is allocated a desk, where he writes his choice on a ballot paper inscribed with the words ‘Eligo in summum pontificem’ – ’I elect as Supreme Pontiff’ – ideally in distorted handwriting to disguise their identity. They then fold the paper in half and, in order of seniority, walk to the altar and place it in a bronze urn.
Two metal stoves have already been installed inside the 15th-century chapel, connected by a long metal flue to the chimney on the roof. Every joint is painstakingly tested, as the slightest error could end up damaging one of the most famous ceilings in the world, adorned with Michelangelo’s frescoes. One of the stoves is used for the burning ballot papers while the other is used to emit coloured smoke – black to signify they have yet to reach and agreement, white to announce the next pontiff has been chosen.
How long the process will take, however, is less certain. The longest conclave in history last two years and a nine months, from the death of Clement IV in November 1268 until the election of Pope Gregory X in September 1271.
Cardinals had gathered the city of Viterbo, the then-papal base, but locals, who were paying their expenses, grew so irritated by the slow deliberations they started reducing their rations to a diet of just bread and water. When that didn’t work they ripped off the roof of the papal palace, exposing them to the elements. By the end of the marathon conclude, three of the 20 cardinals had died and one had resigned.
The farcical conclave led to the tradition of locking up cardinals until they decide, with Gregory X’s introducing new rules as soon as he was elected.
Modern conclaves tend to be far speedier, with the longest in modern times being in 1922, when it took five days, and 14 rounds of voting, to elect Pius XI. The conclave to elect the late Pope Francis 12 years ago lasted just two days.
This week’s conclave is also likely to be less eventful – or controversial – as others down the centuries. During an early conclave in 236 a dove landed on the head of a priest named Fabian, which cardinals took to be a sign from God and duly elected him pope.
In 1492, one of the cardinals, a powerful and wealthy man called Rodrigo Borgia who had fathered several children with a string of mistresses, offered his colleagues lucrative positions in exchange for their votes and was duly elected Alexander VI.
The only recorded case of an injury at a panel conclave was in 1605 when a fist fight broke out between cardinals who couldn’t agree on who to vote for, with elderly Cardinal Visconti suffering several broken bones. Eventually Pope Paul V was elected.
And in the conclave of 1655 a group of young cardinals, bored with weeks-long deadlock, decided to play a prank on older colleagues. One dressed up as the Holy Ghost and surprised older members of the college in the dead of night, which led to an elderly colleague dying of pneumonia after falling from his bed to a cold floor in fright.
Once the cardinals have decided on their man, however, other challenges may still arise. Not every successful candidate wanted the job. In 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani is reputed to have muttered ‘No, oh please, no’ when elected. The 65-year-old ended up reluctantly accepting, but suffered a fatal heart attack 33 days later. In fact nine popes have survived less than a month after being chosen, with the most short-lived, Urban VII, lasting just 13 days.
Many have wept at the enormity of the task they face, leading to the room where the new pope is first taken to change into the white vestments of the papacy being called the Stanza delle Lacrime, or Room of Tears. Vatican officials lay out laid out gowns of different sizes that fit any of the 133 cardinals who could find themselves becoming pontiff.
He is then asked what name he wishes to be called – the name-changing tradition dates back to the sixth century when a priest named Mercury who was elected pope felt his name was too pagan and changed it to John II.
Finally, he will be taken to the balcony overlooking St Peter’s Square, where the senior cardinal will announce ‘Habemus papam’ – ‘We have a pope”. The 267th pope will then gives his first blessing – watched by thousands in the square and millions around the world.