He 2025 conclave begins and the next Pope will be known only when he appears before a crowd in the San Pedro Square. For the next few days, influential members from all over the world Catholic church They will participate in the process. Know what are the eight key to know for the vote.
When is the conclave?
The conclave begins today May 7 and will be the first in 20 years to be held after the death of a pontiff. This type of procedure must begin between 15 and 20 days after the vacancy is recorded, according to the Apostolic Constitution written by the Pope John Paul II (1996) and updated by Benedict XVI (2013).
Where is the conclave celebrated?
The conclave takes place in the city of the Vaticanlocated within Rome and governed by the Holy See. The cardinals gather in the San Pedro Basilica for a special mass before proceeding moments later inside the Sistine chapelwhere the vote will take place.
How long will the conclave last?
The Apostolic Constitution establishes a voting calendar until A new Pope for a two -thirds majority of the votes. The first day, cardinals can vote Once in the afternoon. Then, vote twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon every day.
If there is no potato after three days of voting, it is suspended by the cardinals for a day “to allow a pause for prayer, an informal debate between voters and a brief spiritual exhortation” by a key cardinal.
While there are established procedures for a duration of more than three days, There are no expectations that the 2025 process extends so much. “I will worry if it begins to last more than three days,” said the history professor at the University of Notre Dame Kathleen Sprows Cummings.
During the twentieth century, only twice a conclave lasted more than expected: five days (1903 and 1922), while in the 21st century, those of 2005 and 2013 lasted two days each.
Who can vote in the elections?
The voters of the process are the cardinals, the most rank clergy in the Catholic Church after the Pope, and they must be under 80 years to be considered eligible. A number of 133 is expected, with two less that will not participate for health reasons.
The cardinal Angelo Becciu He claimed to have the right to participate even after Francisco forced him to resign his position in the Vatican and his rights as a cardinal in 2020 for accusations of financial behaviorbut finally changed posture on Tuesday, said the medium PBS.
“Taking into account the good of the Church, which I have served and I will continue to serve with fidelity and love, as well as to contribute to the communion and serenity of the conclave, I have decided to obey, as I have always done, the will of Pope Francis for not participating in the conclavemaintaining my conviction of my innocence, “he said through his lawyers.
Who is eligible to be Pope?
According to canon law, Any baptized Catholic male can be elected Poperegardless of whether he is a member of the priesthood. The only requirement is that bishop has been ordered to accept the choice.
How does the vote work?
In each voting round, ballots are issued, which once checked are burned. A column of smoke leaves a fireplace on the Sistine Chapel to announce the results of the process while the crowd waits in the Plaza de San Pedro. If the smoke is black, there is no decision; If it’s white, there is a new potato.
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Why are conclaves so secret?
The rules of the conclave demand the hiring of trust technicians to guarantee the non -installation of audiovisual recording or transmission equipment in the Sistine Chapel or in the adjacent areas. Likewise, cardinals must refrain from any communication with the outside.
The secret of the process “is To help prevent, on the one hand, that political and other entities have influence as much as possible”Said theology professor at the Franciscan University of Steubenville Jeffrey Morrow.
So also, as “to emphasize the faithful that this is a decision of the Holy Spirit, so that we do not see it too politically, we do not politicize it too much.”
What happens once the conclave chooses a Pope?
Once a Pope is chosen, he is asked if he accepts his “canonical choice as a high pontiff” and if he chooses his papal name. The new chosen one is taken to the “Sala de las Tears “of the Sistine Chapel And there you dress with white clothes and receive a new pectoral cross and a white Zucchetto (hat).
The cardinals greet him and swear in him. Traditionally, the Deacon Cardinal of greater antiquity of the Cardinal College says to the crowd: “Annuntio Vobis Gaudium magnum; Habemus Papam” (“I announce a great joy: we have a pope”). Moments later, the new Pope gives his blessing to the crowd from one of the balconies of the Basilica of San Pedro.
Source: Ambito
