Do you know how the election of the Pope takes place ? Maybe you heard about the rules for choosing a pontiff? If not, now we will tell you about it. Most often, the election of a new head of the Roman Catholic Church occurs after the transition to the world of another acting pope. But it happens that the incumbent minister of the See of St. Peter renounces such a place of honor at will.
When is it customary to elect a new high priest?
After the abdication procedure, the election of the Pope is also carried out, which can replace the current chapter. Therefore, upon abdication, the pontiff who came down from the throne offers the candidacy of a minister worthy (in his opinion) of such a high rank and considerable responsibility. Naturally, before revealing to others the name of the successor, the Pope first agrees his decision with himself. There is a vote. Also, if it is necessary to choose a new Pope due to the deceased previous one, the decision is made by secret ballot with the participation of dignitaries of the clergy.
What is a conclave?
It is difficult for an ignorant of religious matters to understand where this word came from. The Conclave is a locked room. A meeting of the conclave is nothing but a meeting of dignitaries for the election of the Pope. And 1871 was the year when the conclave began to gather in the Sistine Chapel. And until today, the event to vote for the new high priest takes place there.
How are the elections of the Pope: phased
Inside the chapel, higher clergy gather. Their number does not exceed one hundred and twenty people. Cardinals who have crossed the age of eighty are deprived of the right to vote, but they can themselves be elected to such an honorable post.
The election of the new Pope takes place by secret ballot. The action is devoid of modern technology, and everything is done like hundreds of years ago. We are not even talking about any mobile phones and other modern means of communication. The Internet during the meeting is unavailable, as is any connection with the outside world. This is done in order to exclude any influence on the members of the conclave when choosing the Pope.
The entire spiritual world awaits a decision, holding its breath on the other side of the "closed room." Thousands of crowds of Catholic Christians reverently watch the trumpet of the Sistine Chapel. With the successful election of the Pope, the smoke from the chimney will go white. It is him with a trembling heart that believers expect.
And at that time ...
While the people are waiting, the clergy is in hard work. The name of the candidate is written on the ballot sheet issued to each cardinal. You need to write in such a way that no one can determine whose hand was holding the pen at that moment. But the name of the alleged Supreme Pontiff must be written very clearly so that there are no additional problems.
First step
The cardinal lifts the completed document up (having previously folded it so that it is not visible who the vote was for). Holding the ballot in this way, he goes in front of everyone at the Altar and puts a sheet in the ballot box.
Compliance with all the rules of this procedure is monitored by specially appointed scurators from among the electors. Sometimes it happens that for health reasons or due to old age, one of the voters himself cannot get up and bring the ballot to the ballot box. In this case, the scurator does the whole procedure instead. In total, three supervisors, three information and three auditors are elected during the vote.
Stage number 2
When each elector lowers his ballot card in the ballot box, the second stage of the sacred action begins. Scooters take a filled ballot box and shake it to mix cards with candidate names. After printing the ballot box, a vote count takes place. At the same time, they pierce the ballots on a special strong thread. If the number of ballot papers did not coincide with the number of participants in the election of the Pope, all papers are immediately burned in order to repeat the procedure from the very beginning (distribution of ballot cards). This will be repeated until all electors vote.
By the way, when burning garlands from ballots that did not fulfill their mission in the election of the Pope, the smoke from the chimney is painted black with resin. The people at this time are sad and patient with the expectation of a second (sometimes more than one) vote.
It must be clarified that all the time, until the name of the new head of the Roman Catholic Church is announced, high clergymen spend in the Vatican. Rather - in the very Sistine Chapel. No wonder the meeting is called the conclave. Until the Catholic believers are revealed the name of the chosen Pope, no one will leave the chapel.
Since 1996, the members of the conclave were still allowed to leave the "locked room", but only during the night’s sleep. The house of St. Martha, in which cardinals sleep during the conclave, is also located on the territory of the Vatican.
The final stage
And then comes the moment when the number of cards and the number of electors coincided. Cardinal scooters again count votes and string paper sheets onto a thread. The election of the Pope can only be called successful if one of the candidates receives 2/3 of the votes. If this does not happen, the third (and possibly subsequent) round begins.
In case of successful completion of the vote count and the election of the pontiff, the ballots are again burned in the oven and, adding dry straw, the smoke is painted white. Additionally, the bell ringing announces a successful outcome. The people sigh with relief, and their joy has no limit. Dad is elected!
From the history
- Conclaves can take a long time. During the election it even happened that some church representatives went to another world right in the Sistine Chapel, and did not know who would become the supreme pastor of the Catholic world.
- The longest conclave was in 1268. Then the elections were held for almost three years. After the completion of these elections, the same rules came to the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the election of the pope to this day takes place.
- The pontificate, which lasted almost forty years, is considered the longest reign of one pope.
- The 1958 Conclave first brought together cardinals from Africa, India, and China.
When the name of the future head of the Catholic Church becomes known, it is necessary to verify his consent to the post of Supreme Pontiff. Answer: “Accept” means closing the conclave. The pope is elected and has the right to choose for himself a name by which his flock will call him.
From the central Loggia of Blessing, it is loudly heard: Habemus papam! This phrase translates as "Dad is with us!" The new head of the Holy See enters the balcony, addressing the people awaiting his election, teaches the faithful his highest apostolic blessing.
This is how the election of the head of the Roman Catholic Church - the Pope.