On Monday April 21, 2025 Pope Francis died in the Saint Martha House of Vatican City at age 88. With his death it won’t be long before the election of a new pope begins and the Conclave elects the new spiritual leader of the catholic church and the head sovereign of the Vatican.
Who was Pope Francis:
Pope Francis was a high figure in the Roman Catholic Church, known for his humility and advocacy for social justice as well as being the first Jesuit Pope in many centuries and the first non-European Pope. He focused on the Church and the world, developing global relations like with the United States and Cuba as well as improving relationships with China and also allying with Orthodox, Protestant, Muslim and Jewish groups. He also apologized for the Church’s role in the massacre of Indigenous Canadians and improved relations with Indigenous Americans. His role in social justice is also great with him caring for the other people, environmental justice and hosting peace and dialogue meetings with different faiths, mainly Islam, according to Global News.
Pope Francis became a huge figure in the Catholic Church and with a new Pope soon, we will see how this new Pope leads the Church and the Vatican. His death is being honored with a rosary prayer held in St. Peter’s Square and other countries around the world. Like in Jerusalem, Israel where Catholics hold rosary prayers, people have candle lightings and other countries and cities to honor Pope Francis.
The Conclave and Cardinals Electing a new Pope:
Starting on May 7, the College of Cardinals will elect their new Pope to lead the Church and the Church-State of Vatican City. The process of the election is a secretive and exclusive process cut from the outside world beyond the Sistine Chapel.
- How does The Conclave work: The Conclave is when all the Cardinals gather together for the election of the new pope for the Church and Vatican. There are 252 Cardinals in the Catholic Church but only 135 Cardinals are able to vote for a new Pope because the age requirement is 80 or younger so only 117 out of 252 are not able to vote due to their age. The dean of the College of Cardinals will call them to the Conclave and they will have secret balloting to see who is the new Pope and only the ⅔ majority of the votes will elect the future Pope.
- What is the College of Cardinals: the College of Cardinals are senior members of the Catholic Church. They advise the Pope, elect the Pope and play as high ranking officials of the Catholic Church. They serve as Shepherds of Faith, Bishops and Archbishops for the Catholic Church and act as officials around the world in the Catholic Church and serve in the Roman Curia. Their role in the Catholic World is highly important because they act as governance of the Church and of the Vatican when a Pope dies or steps down.
- The Voting, Smoke Signals and Secrecy: When the Cardinals that can vote assemble as the Conclave they must secure their secrecy from the rest of the world inside the Sistine Chapel. The voting is extended or concluded by smoke signals, white smoke signals that the voting has concluded and the Cardinals have chosen their new Pope and black smoke signaling that the Cardinals have not yet chosen a pope from one of the candidates and when this happens the ballots are burned with only wet straw, making black smoke indicating that no decision has been made on who will become the Pope and the Cardinals still need to vote. The secrecy must be involved in voting to avoid any risk of excommunication from the Catholic Church or the Cardinals. This secrecy protects the Papal election process, honors the tradition of secrecy of the Conclave Pope election and protects the Cardinals freedom of speech for the election. The Sistine Chapel is where the voting will happen until the Conclave has reached its decision, which usually lasts a day to five days with the longest one being in 1268, taking up 34 months, but usually less than three days.
This shows the election process of the Pope and how the Conclave makes its decisions for a new Pope. With the Conclave soon to be gathered and with high religious leaders in the Catholic Church soon to be candidates for the Pope it is best to know the process of this sacred election of an important religious leader like the Pope.
Examples of the Conclave have been made in Robert Harris’s book Conclave and director Edward Berger and actor Ralph Fiennes’s Oscar winning movie Conclave (2024). Both explore the process of the Conclave and the political infighting of the Conclave with voting for a new Pope. Both of these adaptations of this sacred and secretive event in the Catholic Church have been good explorations into the politics involved with the Conclave, the Pope election and the politics involved with the Cardinals and their duty for the Pope and Catholic Church.
In Conclusion:
The new Pope will be announced and become the new sovereign of Vatican City and the Catholic Church. The Conclave will conclude their voting in a certain amount of time, from 1 day or more and the entire church will get their leader. The candidates will be named and put to the test with the College of Cardinals in order to rule the church and Vatican. Pope Francis was a key Pope for his reputation in his reign and whoever will succeed Pope Francis’s place in the Catholic Church and the Vatican will have their duty to the people.