On Wednesday, May 7th, the cardinals of the Catholic Church will gather for the conclave to choose our next pope.
So what exactly happens?
The cardinals, those in charge of Church government, will be the ones to vote. Only cardinals under the age of 80 can vote for the next pope. These are known as “cardinal electors.” Currently there are a total of 252 cardinals, 135 of which can vote in the upcoming conclave. Of these electors, there are representatives from 72 different countries.
For the past few days, the cardinals have been gathering for prayer and discussion about the needs of the Catholic Church today. These meetings are called the “General Congregation.” This is an important part of the process, because the needs of the Church may be different today than they were when the last pope was elected. For example, we currently have a major military conflict in Europe and in the Middle East. These may be factors in deciding who would be the best pope to promote peace. I am not saying that this will be an integral factor, but these may be some of the topics that the cardinals bring up.
On Wednesday, all of the Cardinals will go to St. Peter’s Basilica. There, they will celebrate Mass together and as that the Holy Spirit be with them in their discernment.
The cardinals will then enter the Sistine Chapel. When they enter, each cardinal will place his hand on the Gospels and swear to uphold the secrecy inside of the conclave.They will not have access to the internet, phones, television, radio, or anything else from the outside world. They will remain in the Sistine Chapel, their dorms, or eating areas until the conclave concludes.
There will be four rounds of voting a day. The cardinals write on a paper ballot “Eligo in Summun Pontificem” (“I elect as the Supreme Pontiff”) and then the person’s name. The ballots are counted by three selected cardinals. A two-thirds majority of the conclave must agree in order for a pope to be elected.
If there is no two-thirds majority, then the ballots are burned with a special chemical to produce black smoke. This will indicate to the outside world that no one has yet been elected.
How long with the conclave last?
No one knows. In the Middle Ages, there was a conclave that lasted three years. However since the election of Pope Pius XII in 1939, the conclaves have averaged about two days.
When the cardinals confirm a two-thirds majority, the person elected is asked if he will accept the office. He does have the choice to refuse. Joseph Ratzinger, on seeing that he was getting the most votes, asked the other cardinals not to vote for him. However, one of his friends asked him if he would refuse the office that God called him to. So Ratzinger accepted the election and became Pope Benedict XVI
Once he accepts, he chooses a new papal name. This usually has a significance that he wants to convey to the world. Pope Francis named himself after Francis of Assisi, especially focusing on his love for the poor. Popes John Paul I and John Paul II named themselves after the two Vatican II popes, thus showing they would continue with the reforms of the council.
The ballots are once again burned, but this time, white smoke comes out of the chimney to indicate to the world that a pope has been chosen. The faithful then gather outside of the papal balcony waiting for the announcement. The senior cardinal deacon declares “Habemus papam!” which means “We have a pope!” He will then announce his name. The new pope will then present himself to the Church and the world. and offer his first papal blessing.
So now that you know, what can we the faithful do?
The most important thing we can do is pray. Someone asked Pope Benedict XVI if the Holy Spirit chose the pope. He said that we have far to many examples of bad popes in our history for this to be true. While the cardinals are the shepherds of the Church, they are men who will need our prayerful support to listen to the will of God.
For this reason, all of us should petition the Holy Spirit to move the hearts and minds of the cardinals so that the new successor to Peter may lead us ever closer to Christ.
Copyright 2025, WL Grayson
W.L. Grayson
I am a devoutly Catholic theology teacher who loves a popular culture that often, quite frankly, hates me. I grew up absorbing every movie, TV show, comic book, science fiction novel, etc. I could find. As of today I’ve watched over 2100 movies and tv shows. They take up a huge part of my life. I don’t know that this is a good thing, but it has given me a common vocabulary to draw from in order to illustrate whatever theological point I make in class. I’ve used American Pie the song to explain the Book of Revelation (I’ll post on this some time later) and American Pie the movie to help explain Eucharist (don’t ask). The point is that the popular culture is popular for a reason. It is woven into the fabric of our lives and imaginations, for good or ill. In this blog I will attempt to bring together the things of heaven with the things of earth. Of course this goal may be too lofty for someone like me.
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