ON May 7, cardinals from all over the world under the age of 80 will participate in the Papal conclave or the election of a new pope. Whoever will be chosen will succeed the late Pope Francis as the new head of the Roman Catholic Church.
For this year’s conclave, a total of 133 cardinals will elect the 267th pope inside the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. Three of the cardinal electors are Filipinos: Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Cardinal Jose Advincula, and Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David.
Once the conclave begins, no one will know what exactly will happen during the voting process in the Sistine Chapel, which will remain closed to visitors until the election is concluded. The public will know if a new pope has been chosen if white smoke is emitted from the chapel’s chimney.
When can they expect white smoke? No one can tell.
Pope Francis was elected a day after the last Papal conclave on March 12, 2013. But did you know that there’s a Papal election that took almost three years, and it is the longest in the Catholic Church’s history?
The longest conclave
The Sistine Chapel has been a witness to many conclaves. The first Papal election in the chapel was held in 1492, and it has been a permanent venue for conclaves since 1878.
Before this, popes were elected in different locations but most were still held in Italy’s capital. One of which is the longest Papal conclave from November 1268 to September 1271, which lasted for 1,006 days.
The 1268-1271 Papal election was held in Viterbo, Italy, the papal seat in the 13th century, following the death of Pope Clement IV. The conclave was too long that it resulted in the deaths of two of the 20 cardinal electors during the process.
At the time, there was a political infighting between the cardinals, with some supporting the papacy and others siding with the Holy Roman Empire.
To force them to choose the new pontiff, the frustrated citizens of Viterbo locked the cardinals in the Palazzo dei Papi di Viterbo, or the Palace of the Popes, and reduced their food and water rations. It was also said that they removed the roof of the Palace of the Popes, exposing the cardinals to the elements.
After nearly three years, Teobaldo Visconti was chosen as the successor of Pope Clement IV, taking the papal name Gregory X.
Following the prolonged papal election, Pope Gregory X established the conclave system to expedite future papal elections by isolating the cardinals from external influences.
Today, only cardinals who are under the age of 80 are eligible to participate in the conclave. They are also required to take an oath of secrecy, pledging to not reveal details about the conclave.
Preparation in full swing
In the Vatican, preparations for the May 7 Papal conclave are underway. The Holy See Press Office released photos and videos of the Vatican fire brigade atop the Sistine Chapel’s roof to install the chimney stack that will announce the election of the new pontiff.
Note that black smoke means that Pope Francis’ successor has yet to be elected, while white smoke signals that a new head of the Roman Catholic Church has been chosen.
Two cardinals will not join the papal conclave due to health issues. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, on the other hand, withdrew to obey the will of Pope Francis, who ordered him to renounce his rights and privileges as a cardinal in 2020 due to a financial scandal.
With this, a candidate has to secure at least 89 votes, or a two-thirds majority, to succeed Pope Francis.
Over 177 cardinals held their ninth General Congregation in the Vatican on Saturday, continuing their discernment on the Church’s state and the qualities of the next pope.
Meanwhile, the three Filipino cardinal electors—Tagle, Advincula, and David—concelebrated a mass in the Pontifico Collegio Filippino, which serves as a residence of Filipino clerics in Rome, on Sunday, a few days before they enter the Sistine Chapel for the secret conclave.
