Conclave to elect new pope set to begin: What to expect
The world’s most secret ballot – the conclave to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church — is just hours away. Here’s what’s involved and what to expect.
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The world’s most secret ballot – the conclave to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church – begins on Wednesday night in Rome.
Electronic jammers will cut all phone and wi-fi signals to the Sistine Chapel from Wednesday for voting, to ensure “absolute and perpetual secrecy” is observed among cardinals and staff.
The 133 cardinals, who are staying at the nearby guesthouse, Domus Sanctae Marthae, will also be on a television, newspaper and radio blackout for the duration of the conclave.
The gathering comes as papal frontrunner Cardinal Pietro Parolin – the Vatican’s former secretary of state and a Pope Francis devotee – was rumoured to have lost support among his peers for the top job.
Beyond the lockup, wagering on papal elections may be banned in Italy but that hasn’t stopped everyday Italians from signing up to a free online fantasy game that has gone berserk since the death of 88-year-old Francis on April 21.
Dubbed Fantapapa – or Fantasy Pope – the free online game has already attracted more than 92,000 users who are all trying to predict who will be the church’s next leader.
“You have to pick 11 players and predict who you think will be the captain, or the pope,” co-founder Pietro Pace, 42, said.
Italian cardinal Matteo Zuppi and Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle are among the fantasy players’ top picks, along with Parolin, who fell victim in recent days to a smear campaign which labelled him sick, uninspiring, a China sympathiser, and too blemished by a failed UK property deal.
The College of Cardinals convenes inside the 15th century Sistine Chapel on Wednesday at 4.30pm (Thursday 1.30 AEST).
In its 800-year history, a conclave has never been this diverse, with the church at a progressive versus retrospective crossroads.
Experts said predicting an outcome is near impossible, with the 133 cardinals – aged under 80 and eligible to vote – coming from 70 countries.
There are 52 from Europe, followed by Asia (23), North America (20), Africa (17), South America (17) and Oceania (4).
When Australia’s only cardinal, Ukrainian Mykola Bychok, spoke to the media in Rome ahead of Francis’s funeral, he admitted being “nervous” about the process.
“On the one hand I’m nervous but, on the other hand, I’m completely at peace and hope,” Bychok, who is the youngest cardinal to take part in the ballot at age 45, said.
“To be a young cardinal is a huge responsibility but actually God called me through Pope Francis.”
He acknowledged that a majority of cardinals – 80 per cent – were appointed during Francis’s papacy. Experts have described this as the late pope “stacking the decks”.
The first vote will be carried out at 3am AEST Thursday and then continue four times daily until one of the cardinals is successful in receiving a two-thirds majority of the vote – or the equivalent of 89 votes.
After each vote the ballots will be burned in a stove near the chapel and black smoke will be emitted.
It’s not until there is success in finding the next pope that a special chemical is added to the ballot papers to allow white smoke to flow out of the chapel’s chimney, marking the beginning of a new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
When the successful cardinal has a majority vote he will be asked by the dean of the College of Cardinals if he is willing to accept his appointment.
No matter who the new Pope may be, tailor Raniero Mancinelli, 86, whose modest store is located near St Peter’s Basilica, is ready.
Mr Mancinelli has been dressing popes since he was 15 and has dressed John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.
For each conclave, robes are made in three different sizes so no matter who assumes the responsibility, they will fit.
“I will give them to the cardinals before the conclave begins. It is a gift, as always,” Mr Mancinelli told the National Catholic Reporter.
“This has been my job for 70 years, and I do it with passion. I work with my daughter and with my grandson Lorenzo, who is 23 and is now making a sash for a cardinal. It is a tradition that continues.”
The new Pope dons the white robe with gold fringes, chooses a papal name and walks out onto the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, announcing himself to the world as the church’s new leader.
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Originally published as Conclave to elect new pope set to begin: What to expect
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