election

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Times to watch for the smoke signal from the Sistine Chapel

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Here are the times when the smoke signals (black or white) will pour out of the chimney and be visible to the public, as the first sign whether the Cardinal-electors had succeeded or failed to elect a new Pope in the previous ballot session.

 

1. Smoke after 1st ballot (The only Tuesday ballot session, 1st day):

Tuesday, 12 March 2013 at 8 pm Rome time (CET/UTC+1)

Tuesday, 12 March 2013 at 7 pm UTC

Tuesday, 12 March 2013 at 2 pm EST (UTC-5)

Tuesday, 12 March 2013 at 11 am PST (UTC-8)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 2 am WIB (Indonesia, Thailand, etc.) (UTC+7)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 3 am Singapore time (UTC+8)

 

2. Smoke after 2nd ballot (1st Wednesday morning ballot, 2nd day) : A new Pope is likely to have been elected (if no pope elected after the 2nd ballot, the Cardinal-electors will continue directly to 3rd ballot, and the two ballots will be burned together after the 3rd ballot) :

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 11.30 am Rome time (CET/UTC+1)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 10.30 am UTC

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 5.30 am EST (UTC-5)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 2.30 am PST (UTC-8)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 5.30 pm WIB (Indonesia, Thailand, etc.) (UTC+7)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 6.30 pm Singapore time (UTC+8)

 

3. Smoke after 3rd ballot (2nd Wednesday morning ballot, 2nd day) :

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 1 pm Rome time (CET/UTC+1)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 12 pm UTC

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 7 am EST (UTC-5)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 4 am PST (UTC-8)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 7 pm WIB (Indonesia, Thailand, etc.) (UTC+7)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 8 pm Singapore time (UTC+8)

 

4. Smoke after 4th ballot (1st Wednesday afternoon ballot, 2nd day) : A new Pope is likely to have been elected

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 6.30 pm Rome time (CET/UTC+1)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 5.30 pm UTC

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 12.30 pm EST (UTC-5)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 9.30 am PST (UTC-8)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 00.30 am WIB (Indonesia, Thailand, etc.) (UTC+7)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 1.30 am Singapore time (UTC+8)

 

5. Smoke after 5th ballot (2nd Wednesday afternoon ballot, 2nd day) :

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 8 pm Rome time (CET/UTC+1)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 7 pm UTC

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 2 pm EST (UTC-5)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 at 11 am PST (UTC-8)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 2 am WIB (Indonesia, Thailand, etc.) (UTC+7)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 3 am Singapore time (UTC+8)

 

6. Smoke after 6th ballot (1st Thursday morning ballot, 3rd day) : A new Pope is likely to have been elected :

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 11.30 am Rome time (CET/UTC+1)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 10.30 am UTC

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 5.30 am EST (UTC-5)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 2.30 am PST (UTC-8)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 5.30 pm WIB (Indonesia, Thailand, etc.) (UTC+7)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 6.30 pm Singapore time (UTC+8)

 

7. Smoke after 7th ballot (2nd Thursday morning ballot, 3rd day) :

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 1 pm Rome time (CET/UTC+1)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 12 pm UTC

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 7 am EST (UTC-5)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 4 am PST (UTC-8)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 7 pm WIB (Indonesia, Thailand, etc.) (UTC+7)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 8 pm Singapore time (UTC+8)

 

8. Smoke after 8th ballot (1st Thursday afternoon ballot, 3rd day) : A new Pope is likely to have been elected

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 6.30 pm Rome time (CET/UTC+1)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 5.30 pm UTC

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 12.30 pm EST (UTC-5)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 9.30 am PST (UTC-8)

Friday, 15 March 2013 at 00.30 am WIB (Indonesia, Thailand, etc.) (UTC+7)

Friday, 15 March 2013 at 1.30 am Singapore time (UTC+8)

 

9. Smoke after 9th ballot (2nd Thursday afternoon ballot, 3rd day) :

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 8 pm Rome time (CET/UTC+1)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 7 pm UTC

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 2 pm EST (UTC-5)

Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 11 am PST (UTC-8)

Friday, 15 March 2013 at 2 am WIB (Indonesia, Thailand, etc.) (UTC+7)

Friday, 15 March 2013 at 3 am Singapore time (UTC+8)

 

If until at this point, no one has yet been elected the Pope, they will adjourn for a maximum of one full day for prayer, discernment and consideration. To think and really find out who should be the next Pope. The cycle continues again with the other 3 day ballots, and then break if the Cardinals fail to pick a suitable candidate, and these proceedings will continue until a new Pope had been elected.

If this conclave is fast, as it is expected to be, due to the incoming Holy Week and other mattters, we do not even need to refer to the timing I placed for the later ballots.

Nevertheless, regardless what happens, God is always with us, and He will certainly choose the best one available for the position.

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Tuesday, 5 March 2013 : 3rd Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

Forgiveness is not an easy thing to be done. It is a difficult thing to do, but yet also a very noble virtue. Forgiveness allow us to transcend hatred and evil, and allow us to break free from that cycle of hatred and death, and instead enter into the realm of love and compassion. For love is not complete without forgiveness, and how can we truly love someone if we have something between us and that person, that we have yet to forgive?

God loves us and He will never leave us in trouble. Just like the king, if we humble ourselves, and throw ourselves at the feet of the Lord, God will surely have pity on us and be merciful. But there is of course limit to God’s mercy, and there is also something that we have to do, that is to truly transform ourselves, to prove to the Lord that we are truly regretful and repentant of all our sins and faults.

How to do that? Not to do public penance and awesome lamentations, and neither do we fast in public and show our regret, but what matters is, our heart. A contrite heart and a broken spirit, that seeks the Lord for healing and forgiveness. These are what the Lord truly wants from us, as these are the sign of our sincerity and our true love for Him, instead of love that is hidden beneath layers of pride and self-vanity.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us use this holy and fruitful season of Lent, to forgive one another of the faults we have made, either intentionally or unintentionally. Let us reach out to one another in forgiveness and in sincere love, that in doing so, we too show our great love for the Lord. Do not keep grudge for one another, and do not hate, no matter how great the temptations are, for to hate is to bring ourselves into sin, and into evil, and finally into death and separation from God.

Give thanks to the Lord for all the wonders He had given us, for all the guidance He had given us, especially through difficult times, and let us always strive to orient ourselves towards Him and place Him at the centre of our life. Through regular and constant attendance of the Holy Mass, devotions and prayers, and asking His glorious saints and blesseds to pray for us, our faith and our love for God, and for man alike will only ever grow stronger and stronger.

Pray for one another, and especially now that the Church is preparing for the Conclave, let us also pray for the Cardinals that they can elect a new Pope who is loving, faithful, and filled with the Holy Spirit in his leadership of God’s people on this world. Amen.

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Papal Conclave will begin between 15 March 2013 to 20 March 2013

http://www.romereports.com/palio/vatican-conclave-will-begin-between-march-15-and-20-english-9048.html

It is confirmed that in accordance with the rules of the Papal Conclave, the Universi Dominici Gregis (UDG), that a conclave must begin within 15 to 20 days from the time the See of Rome is vacant, either by death or the renouncement by the previous Pope, the Conclave date has been set to be sometime in mid-March.

Let us all pray together that God will send His Holy Spirit to all the Cardinal-electors, that we will soon have a new shepherd, the Bishop of Rome, successor to our beloved Pope Benedict XVI, Blessed Pope John Paul II, and St. Peter the Apostle. God be with us all, His Church!

+Ut Omnes Unum Sint, ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam+
(That they all may be One, for the greater glory of God)

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When will the See of Rome become vacant around the world? Let’s pray then!

To all Catholics around the world, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the See of Rome will be vacant as of Rome time (CET/UTC+1), 8.00 pm on 28 February 2013, which corresponds to these times :

Los Angeles / PST / UTC-8 : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 11.00 am

New York / EST / UTC-5 : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 2.00 pm

London / GMT / UTC : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 7.00 pm

Jakarta, Bangkok / UTC+7 : Friday, 1 March 2013 at 2.00 am

Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Beijing / UTC+8 : Friday, 1 March 2013 at 3.00 am

I do not think many will be awake or stay awake, or at work, and busy at this time, but if you are awake or available, let us make this hour an hour of prayer, for our current Pope Benedict XVI, his to-be-elected successor, and for the whole Church.

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Conclave for the election of the new Pope : When are the possible dates and why?

http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/world/story/vatican-says-new-pope-be-elected-easter-20130211

As traditionally the Conclave follows the death of the previous Pope, and this requires the traditional 9-days mourning period (Novemdiales) after the funeral (which happens a few days, 6 days in the case of Blessed Pope John Paul II) before the Conclave can begin, this is why it takes about 15 days or so for the Conclave can begin. This period of time is also for Cardinals from all over the world to have the time to come to Rome to elect the new Pope and for preparation of the Conclave.

However, as the announcement of the date of retirement came early, more than two weeks before the actual date, the Cardinals have plenty of time to come to Rome, and without the Novemdiales, in fact, the Conclave can begin as early as 1 March 2013, and we’ll have a new Pope perhaps even by 3 March 2013 or so.

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Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk of the Chaldeans has been elected as the new Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church

http://www.gcatholic.com/dioceses/diocese/baby0.htm#3220

On Thursday, 31 January 2013, during the Synod of Chaldean Bishops in Rome, Archbishop Louis Sako of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kirkuk of the Chaldean Catholic Church has been elected as the new Patriarch of the See of Babylon in Iraq and leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church, and granted full communion with the Pope as they had been for the past more than 150 years and beyond.

As Patriarch of the Chaldeans, Patriarch Louis Sako is also appointed to the Presidency of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Iraq, which post is always held by the Patriarch of the Chaldeans.

Pray for the new Chaldean Patriarch, that he will be given great strength by God to shepherd the faithful, our brethren in Christ, particularly in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, through the difficult times, and may faith in the Lord grow and prosper despite the oppositions against Christ and His believers. Amen.

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Chaldean Patriarch election during Synod of Chaldean Bishops in Rome

http://www.news.va/en/news/vatican-the-synod-for-the-election-of-the-new-chal

As Cardinal Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly has retired on 19 December last year, the Pope has called and convened a Synod for Chaldean bishops in Rome, in order to elect their new Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, in full communion with the Pope as the Bishop of Rome. The Patriarch is of the See of Babylon, an ancient diocese dating from before the original split between the Chaldean Church from Rome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaldean_Catholic_Church

The Chaldean Church was part of Nestorianism, who rejected the Council of Ephesus in 431, as they believed in the distinctive human and divine nature of Christ, while we believe that Christ is truly fully human and also fully divine at the same time, and both are inseparable. The Chaldeans first returned to full communion with Rome in the mid 1500s, and after a period of lull in the communion, the full communion was restored in the 1800s, and continued well until today.

Let us pray for the bishops of the Chaldeans, that they will elect a worthy Patriarch for the Chaldean Catholic community, as shepherd to guide the faithful mostly in the region of Iraq and Mesopotamia, especially through the turbulent times experienced by all Christians in that area with intense persecution and harassment of all the faithful in Christ. May God bless them, and may He bless our Universal, Catholic Church.