The Papal Conclave
of 2013 to elect a Pope after the the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013
will be convened on 12 March 2013
Wikipedia gives the procedure of the elections:
Before the sealing of the Sistine Chapel
1. The cardinals hear two sermons before the election: one before
actually entering the conclave, and one once they are settled in the
Sistine Chapel. In both cases, the sermons are meant to lay out the
current state of the Church, and to suggest the qualities necessary for a
pope to possess in that specific time.
2. On the morning of the day designated by the Congregations of Cardinals, the cardinal electors assemble in
St Peter's Basilica to celebrate the
Eucharist.
3. Then, they gather in the afternoon in the
Pauline Chapel of the Palace of the Vatican, proceeding to the Sistine Chapel while singing the
Veni Creator Spiritus.
The Cardinals then take an oath to observe the procedures set down by
the apostolic constitutions; to, if elected, defend the liberty of the
Holy See; to maintain secrecy; and to disregard the instructions of secular authorities on voting. The
Cardinal Dean reads the oath aloud in full; in order of precedence, the other cardinal electors merely state, while touching the
Gospels, that they "do so promise, pledge and swear."
4. After all the cardinals present have taken the oath, the Master of
the Papal Liturgical Celebrations orders all individuals other than the
cardinals electors and conclave participants to leave the Chapel.
Traditionally, he stands at the door of the Sistine Chapel and calls
out: "
Extra omnes!" (Latin for, roughly, "Everybody else, out!") He then closes the door.
5. The Master himself may remain, as may
one ecclesiastic designated by
the Congregations prior to the commencement of the election. The
ecclesiastic makes a speech concerning the problems facing the Church
and on the qualities the new pope needs to have. After the speech
concludes, the ecclesiastic leaves.
6. Following the recitation of prayers,
the Cardinal Dean asks if any doubts relating to procedure remain.
After the clarification of the doubts, the election may commence.
7. Cardinals who arrive after the conclave has begun are admitted
nevertheless. An ill cardinal may leave the conclave and later be
readmitted; a cardinal who leaves for any reason other than illness may
not return to the conclave.
8. Although in the past cardinal electors could be accompanied by attendants ("
conclavists"),
now only a nurse may accompany a cardinal who for reasons of
ill-health, as confirmed by the Congregation of Cardinals, needs such
assistance.
9. The Secretary of the College of Cardinals, the Master of Papal
Liturgical Celebrations, two Masters of Ceremonies, two officers of the
Papal Sacristy
and an ecclesiastic assisting the Dean of the College of Cardinals are
also admitted to the conclave. Priests are available to hear
confessions
in different languages; two doctors are also admitted. Finally, a
strictly limited number of servant staff are permitted for housekeeping
and the preparing and serving of meals.
10. Secrecy is maintained during the conclave; the cardinals as well as
the conclavists and staff are forbidden to disclose any information
relating to the election. Cardinal electors may not correspond or
converse with anyone outside the conclave, by post, radio, telephone or
otherwise and eavesdropping is an offense punishable by excommunication
latae sententiae.
11. Only three cardinals electors are permitted to communicate with the
outside world under grave circumstances, prior to approval of the
College, to fulfil their duties: the
Major Penitentiary, the
Cardinal Vicar for the
Diocese of Rome, and the
Vicar General for the Vatican City State.
Before the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, the Sistine
Chapel was "swept" using the latest electronic devices to detect any
hidden "
bugs"
or surveillance devices (there were no reports that any were found, but
in previous conclaves there were discovered press reporters who had
disguised themselves as conclave servants).
Universi Dominici Gregis specifically prohibits media such as newspapers, the radio, and television.
12. On the afternoon of the first day, one
ballot
may be held. If a ballot takes place on the afternoon of the first day
and no-one is elected, or no ballot had taken place, four ballots are
held on each successive day: two in each morning and two in each
afternoon.
13. Before voting in the morning and again before voting in the
afternoon, the electors take an oath to obey the rules of the conclave.
14. If no result is obtained after three vote days of balloting, the process
is suspended for a maximum of one day for prayer and an address by the
senior Cardinal Deacon.
15. After seven further ballots, the process may
again be similarly suspended, with the address now being delivered by
the senior Cardinal Priest. If, after another seven ballots, no result
is achieved, voting is suspended once more, the address being delivered
by the senior Cardinal Bishop. After a further seven ballots, there
shall be a day of prayer, reflection and dialogue.
16. In the following
ballots, only the two names who received the most votes in the last
ballot shall be eligible in a
runoff election. However, the two people who are being voted on, if Cardinal electors, shall not themselves have the right to vote.
The process of voting comprises three phases: the "pre-scrutiny", the "scrutiny", and the "post-scrutiny."
Pre-scrutiny
1. During the pre-scrutiny, the Masters of the Ceremonies prepare ballot papers bearing the words
Eligo in Summum Pontificem
("I elect as Supreme Pontiff") and provide at least two to each
cardinal elector.
2. As the cardinals begin to write down their votes, the
Secretary of the College of Cardinals, the Master of Papal Liturgical
Celebrations and the Masters of Ceremonies exit; the junior Cardinal
Deacon then closes the door.
3. The junior Cardinal Deacon then draws by
lot nine names; the first three become Scrutineers, the second three
Infirmarii and the last three Revisers.
4. New Scrutineers,
Infirmarii
and Revisers are not selected again after the first scrutiny; the same
nine cardinals perform the same task for the second scrutiny.
5. After
lunch, the election resumes with the oath to obey the rules of the
conclave taken anew when the cardinals again assemble in the Sistine
Chapel.
6. Nine names are chosen for new scrutineers, infirmarii, and
revisers. The third scrutiny then commences, and if necessary, a fourth
immediately follows.
Scrutiny
1. The scrutiny phase of the election is as follows: The cardinal
electors proceed, in order of precedence, to take their completed
ballots (which bear only the name of the individual voted for) to the
altar, where the Scrutineers stand.
2. Before casting the ballot, each
cardinal elector takes a Latin oath, which translates to: "I call as my
witness
Christ
the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who
before God I think should be elected."
3. If any cardinal elector is in the
Chapel, but cannot proceed to the altar due to infirmity, the last
Scrutineer may go to him and take his ballot after the oath is recited.
4. If any cardinal elector is by reason of infirmity confined to his room,
the
Infirmarii go to their rooms with ballot papers and a box.
Any such sick cardinals take the oath and then complete the ballot
papers. When the
Infirmarii return to the Chapel, the ballots are
counted to ensure that their number matches with the number of ill
cardinals; thereafter, they are deposited in the appropriate receptacle.
5. This oath is taken by all cardinals as they cast their ballots. If no
one is chosen on the first scrutiny, then a second scrutiny immediately
follows. A total of four scrutinies are taken each day, two in the
morning and two in the afternoon.
6. The oath when casting one's vote is therefore anonymous, since the
name of the elector is no longer signed on the ballot with that of the
candidate. (Previously, the ballot was also signed by the elector and
then folded over to cover the signature of the elector and then sealed
to result in a semi-secret ballot.
7. There
was no oath taken when actually casting ballots, prior to 1621.
Completely secret ballots (at the option of the cardinals present and
voting) were sometimes used prior to 1621, but these secret ballots had
no oath taken when the vote was actually cast. At some conclaves prior
to 1621, the cardinals verbally voted and sometimes stood in groups to
facilitate counting the votes cast. The signature of the elector covered
by a folded-over part of the ballot paper was added by Gregory XV in
1621, to prevent anyone from casting the deciding vote for himself.
Cardinal Pole of England refused to cast the deciding vote for himself
in 1549 (and was not elected), but in 1492 Cardinal Borgia (Alexander
VI) did cast the deciding vote for himself. Faced by the mortal
challenge to the papacy emanating from Protestantism, and fearing schism
due to several stormy conclaves in the late 16th and early 17th
centuries, Gregory XV established this procedure to prevent any cardinal
from casting the deciding vote for himself. Since 1945, a cardinal can
again cast the deciding vote for himself, though the 2/3 majority rule
has always been continued, except when John Paul II had modified that
rule in 1996 (after 33 ballots, a simple majority was sufficient), with
the 2/3 majority rule restored in 2007 by Benedict XVI.
8. Once all votes have been cast, the first Scrutineer chosen shakes the
container, and the last Scrutineer removes and counts the ballots. If
the number of ballots does not correspond to the number of cardinal
electors present, the ballots are burnt, unread, and the vote is
repeated. If, however, no irregularities are observed, the ballots may
be opened and the votes counted. Each ballot is unfolded by the first
Scrutineer; all three Scrutineers separately write down the name
indicated on the ballot. The last of the Scrutineers reads the name
aloud.
Once all of the ballots have been opened, the final post-scrutiny phase begins.
Post-scrutiny
1. The Scrutineers add up all of the votes, and the Revisers check the
ballots and the names on the Scrutineers' lists to ensure that no error
was made. The ballots are then all burnt by the Scrutineers with the
assistance of the Secretary of the College and the Masters of
Ceremonies.
2. If the first scrutiny held in any given morning or afternoon
does not result in an election, the cardinals proceed to the next
scrutiny immediately; the papers from both scrutinies are burnt together
at the end of the second scrutiny.
3. The colour of the
smoke signals
the results to the people assembled in St Peter's Square. Dark smoke
signals (fumata nera) indicate that the ballot did not result in an
election, while white smoke signals (fumata bianca) announce that a new
pope was chosen. Originally, damp straw was added to the fire to create
dark smoke; beginning in 1963 coloring chemicals have been added, and
beginning in 2005 bells ring after a successful election, to augment the
white smoke, and especially if the white smoke is not unambiguously
white.
Acceptance and proclamation
1. Once the election concludes, the Cardinal Dean summons the Secretary
of the College of Cardinals and the Master of Papal Liturgical
Celebrations into the hall.
2. The Cardinal Dean then asks the pope-elect
if he assents to the election, saying in Latin: "
Acceptasne electionem de te canonice factam in Summum Pontificem?
(Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?)"
3. There is
no requirement that the pope-elect do so: he is free to say "
non accepto" (I don't accept). In practice, however, any potential pope-elect who intends not to accept will explicitly state this
before he has been given a sufficient number of votes to become pope. This has happened in modern times with
Giovanni Colombo in
October 1978.
4. If he accepts, and is already a
bishop,
he immediately takes office.
5. If he is not a bishop, however, he must be
first consecrated as one before he can assume office. If a priest is
elected, the Cardinal Dean consecrates him bishop; if a layman is
elected, then the Cardinal Dean first ordains him deacon, then priest,
and only then consecrates him as bishop. Only after becoming a bishop
does the pope-elect take office.
6.
After the newly-elected pope accepts his election, the Cardinal Dean asks him about his papal name, saying in Latin: "
Quo nomine vis vocari?
(By what name do you wish to be called?)"
7. After the papal name is
chosen, the officials are readmitted to the conclave, and the Master of
Pontifical Liturgical Ceremonies writes a document recording the
acceptance and the new name of the pope.
8. Later, the new pope goes to the "Room of Tears", a small red room
next to the Sistine Chapel. The pope dresses by himself, choosing a set
of pontifical choir robes (white
cassock,
rochet and red
mozzetta) from three sizes provided. Then, he vests in a gold corded
pectoral cross and a red embroidered
stole. He wears a white
zucchetto on his head.
9. Next, the
senior Cardinal Deacon
(the Cardinal Protodeacon) appears at the main balcony of the
basilica's façade to proclaim the new pope with the Latin phrase
(assuming the new Pope was a cardinal):
Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:
Habemus Papam!
Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum,
Dominum [forename],
Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem [surname],
qui sibi nomen imposuit [papal name].
|
("I announce to you a great joy:
We have a Pope!
The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord,
Lord [forename],
Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church [surname],
who takes to himself the name [papal name].")
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10. It has happened in the past that the Cardinal Protodeacon has himself
been the person elected pope. In such an event the announcement is made
by the next senior Deacon, who has thus succeeded as Protodeacon.
11. The new pope then gives his first apostolic blessing,
Urbi et Orbi ("to the City [Rome] and to the World").
Formerly, the pope would later be crowned by the
triregnum or Triple Tiara at the
Papal Coronation.
John Paul I,
John Paul II, and
Benedict XVI did not want an elaborate coronation, choosing instead to have a simpler
papal inauguration ceremony.
