After the death of the Holy Father at 88 years of age and the different funerals, the election of the new successor of St. Peter will take place. An exceptional period of «vacancy that begins once the Camarlengo verifies the death of the Pope and will conclude with the celebration of an ancient ritual to seek a successor: the conclave.
During this period it is when the procedures begin to organize a new conclave that official the new Bishop of Rome, the highest representative of Catholicism throughout the world.
From the Latin «cum key» (which means locally), it starts the meeting in which those cardinals under 80 years meet in the Sistine Chapel to choose a successor to the deceased. This meeting is held in the strictest privacy. In fact, cardinals over 80 years of age can attend general congregations, but they are not allowed to enter the conclave. Thus, up to seven Spanish cardinals can participate in the conclave to choose the new Pope.
In this way, after the death of the pontiff, it is urgent to find the substitute that takes the reins of the Catholic Church and first of all it will be to summon all the wandered ones for the funeral and to organize the succession.
The cardinals must agree on the date of the conclave, which, in any case, will be held before the twentieth day of the “vacant headquarters.”
Once the date has been chosen, this hermetic rite of choice of the potatoes is held with the cardinals locked up to encourage the agreement and thus avoid possible interference.
This practice emerged in 1270 when the inhabitants of Viterbo, then pontificate
Ficia, fed up with indecision years, locked the purpurated church until they agreed and chose successor. It worked and the chosen one was Gregorio X.
Thus, on the consensual date, the cardinals will be locked in the Sistine Chapel to discuss the name of the future Pope, although only those under 80 years of age can vote or be chosen, reports EFE.
This historical day will begin with the Mass “Pro choosing Pope” in the Basilica of San Pedro and then the voters will process until the Sistine singing the “Veni Creator.”
Once inside, before the final judgment of Miguel Ángel, they will swear and then the master of ceremonies will launch the others proclaiming “extra omnes” (all) and close its doors to guarantee the most absolute privacy, an objective for which frequency inhibitors are even used.
At present, the cardinals are 135. Most of Europe (53), followed by the Asians (23), the South Americans (17), North Americans (16), Africans (18), Central Americans (4) and Oceania (4).
The voting mode
Abolidas The modes of acclamation and commitment, the election will be made by secret scrutiny. To make the choice of the pontiff valid, two thirds of the votes are required.
The first day of confinement will be held a single vote and in later days, in case of failing, two in the morning and two in the afternoon in order to expedite the times and reach the consensus before.
The “Scrutinium” will have three cardinals in charge of scrutinizing the process and three to review it. The ballots will be rectangular and in them “Eligo in Summum Pontificem” is read, while in the lower part there will be a space to write the name of the chosen one in question.
Then, each purple will take his ballot to the urn and, before the scrutineers, he will pronounce the oath: “I witness Christ Lord, who will judge me, that I give my vote to whom in the presence of God, I think it must be chosen.”
Then, you will place the ballot on a plate and with this it will slide it in the urn. Once everyone has voted, the count will proceed. The scrutineers will read each ballot while another takes note and a third will pierce them with water and thread, joining them in ristra.
After each vote, the votes will be burned on a stove installed for the occasion in the Sistine Chapel. The color of the smoke that comes out of the chimney will announce the result abroad: if it is white, it will mean that an agreement has been reached. If it is black, the conclave must follow.
Once a cardinal is imposed on the rest, he will ask the chosen one if he accepts his canonic choice as the high pontiff. To nod, you will be asked how you want to be called and the long -awaited “Habemus Papam” will be announced.