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My Guide to the Papal Conclave : Part II (From the beginning of the Conclave to the election of the new Pope)

Part I here : https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2013/03/09/my-guide-to-the-papal-conclave-part-i-from-before-to-the-conclave-to-its-beginning/

 

1. The Conclave begins after selected prayer done by each of the Cardinal-electors, after which then the Cardinal Dean or the senior Cardinal Bishop who is an elector (Cardinal Giovanni Batista Re) who will then ask if there is any need to confirm and re-explain the rules of the Conclave as written in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, and the modifications made by the two Motu Proprios released by Pope Benedict XVI, or whether the election can begin immediately without any issue.

If there is no questions raised or no request for reiteration of the rules, then the balloting to elect the new Pope can begin in earnest.

 

2. According to the Apostolic Constitution, Universi Dominici Gregis, the election of the new Pope can only be done by scrutiny, that is through secret ballot, in which each of the Cardinal-electors write the name of the Cardinal or the person the Cardinal-elector wishes to vote for as his candidate for the Papacy.

 

3. Pre-Scrutiny period : Three Cardinal-electors are selected as Scrutineers, another three as Infirmarii, and another three as the Revisers. All selections are done by drawing of lots among the Cardinal-electors. Their duties are :

 

a. Scrutineers : Add up all the votes that the Cardinal-electors have submitted, and if noone obtains two-thirds of the vote, no Pope has been elected, but otherwise, the new Pope had been elected, with a necessary minimum of more than two-thirds of the vote of all the Cardinal-electors (For 2013 conclave, this requires at least 77 votes).

b. Infirmarii : Carry the voting slips for the Cardinal-electors who are sick and therefore unable to attend the voting directly in the Sistine Chapel. Their task is to obtain the votes from the ill Cardinal-electors and then place them in a sealed container and bring the votes back to the Sistine Chapel to be tallied by the Scrutineers with the rest of the votes.

c. Revisers : Revisers act to check the calculation and tallies made by the Scrutineers to ensure that all the calculations are done meticulously, faithfully, and without any modifications or changes.

 

4. Scrutiny Proper : The Cardinal-electors receive two or three ballot slips each, with a blank line representing the place where they should place the name of the person they wish to vote for (only one name allowed, otherwise that ballot is invalid). They write the name, and then they bring it one by one to the receptacle on the Altar of the Sistine Chapel for the votes, in the presence of the Scrutineers, and before they place the ballot slip, they recite the words :

Testor Christum Dominum, qui me iudicaturus est, me eum eligere, quem secundum Deum iudico eligi debere.

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.

Then they place the ballot slip into the receptacle, and then return to their respective places.

 

5. Once the ballot slips are all collected, the first Scrutineer shake the container to mix the votes, and then the last Scrutineer must count the number of votes inside the receptacle. The number of votes must tally with the number of Cardinal-electors (to avoid double-voting). If the number tallies correctly, the counting of the votes can begin. Otherwise, the votes are burned, and a second vote must immediately be taken.

 

6. For the vote counting, the first Scrutineer take one ballot paper, unfolding it, and taking note the name on the ballot, then pass the ballot to the second Scrutineer, who also takes note the name on the ballot, and then passing the ballot again to the third Scrutineer, who will then read the name on the ballot aloud to all the Cardinal-electors.

Only one ballot paper is allowed in each. If two ballot papers had been folded to make it look like one ballot, then if the name on both papers are the same, they count only as one vote. But if the names are different, they are invalid.

 

7. Once all the ballots are accounted for, and the names in them had been read out, the ballot papers are then secured together with a string to ensure that all the papers are in order, and the total votes are tallied together in order to get the number of votes that particular candidates receive in that voting session.

If no one receives more than two-thirds of the vote, then there is no new Pope elected.

If someone receives more than two-thirds of the vote, then a new Pope had been elected.

 

8. On the first day of the conclave, only one afternoon ballot may be held. Then if there is no Pope elected on that day, four ballots are held in the following days, with two ballot sessions in the morning, and two ballot sessions in the afternoon, until a new Pope is elected when someone receives more than two-thirds of the vote.

 

9. If after three days there had been no Pope elected, the voting session is suspended for maximum of one day to allow time for prayer and reflection among the Cardinal-electors, to allow them to discern carefully on their choices and pray for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in electing a candidate as the new Pope.

Seven ballots occur afterwards, and if the Conclave has yet been able to elect a new Pope by then, another day is taken for the same break period for prayer, which is then followed by another seven ballots, and then break if the Conclave still yet fails to elect a new Pope, and so on and so forth until the new Pope had been elected.

If until 30 ballots had passed, and no one has been elected as the new Pope, the Cardinal Camerlengo will ask the Cardinal-electors on how to best proceed with the election of the new Pope. With the Motu Proprio released by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007, the provision allowing the Cardinals to go into absolute majority (50% + 1 vote) had been removed, and therefore election will definitely have to be settled with more than two-thirds majority.

After that discussion (after the 30th ballot), the two names with the greatest number of votes will be selected, and if the two names belong to the Cardinal-electors, these two Cardinal-electors lose their right to vote in the next ballot, in which this ballot will only include these two names. The new Pope however has to be still elected by two-thirds majority out of these two names. (This is to avoid a certain group of Cardinal-electors who fail to secure two-thirds majority for their candidate to stall the conclave so that they can elect their candidate by absolute majority as previously allowed by the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, but such provision was removed by Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 Motu Proprio).

 

10. After two ballots (in the morning, and in the afternoon), the votes from both ballot sessions in the morning or in the afternoon, immediately after the second ballot session (morning/afternoon) is burnt at the special stoves prepared for that purpose. Colouring chemicals are then used to make the smoke either black or white depending whether a new Pope had been elected or not.

The smoke will then come out from the chimney linked to the stoves, which is placed on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, and will be the first sign for the outside world whether a new Pope had been elected. The bells of St. Peter’s Basilica and churches around Rome will also be rung when a new Pope had been elected.

Black smoke (la fumata nera) : No new Pope had been elected, more ballots to go.

White smoke (la fumata bianca) : A new Pope had been elected, and the Conclave has ended.

 

11. When a new Pope had been elected, the Cardinal Dean, or his Vice Dean if the Dean is elected Pope (as the case in 2005 conclave when Cardinal Dean, Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope), or the senior Cardinal Bishop present in the Conclave as an elector (Cardinal Giovanni Batista Re), will then approach the newly elected Pope, and ask him the formula of the acceptance :

Acceptasne electionem de te canonice factam in Summum Pontificem?

Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?

 

He will then answer “Accepto or I accept” if he accepts his election as Pope.

 

Then he will be asked :

Quo nomine vis vocari?

By what name do you wish to be called?

 

The new Pope will then answer the name he wish to be called (Benedict for Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI, as there had been 15 other Popes named Benedict before him).

 

The names that the Popes had used in the past two centuries (from 1800) and what they will be like if the new Pope uses them in parenthesis :

1. John (John XXIV)

2. Benedict (Benedict XVII)

3. John Paul (John Paul III)

4. Paul (Paul VII)

5. Pius (Pius XIII)

6. Leo (Leo XIV)

7. Gregory (Gregory XVII)

 

12. After the newly elected Pope accepts his election, the Conclave ends, unless the new Pope says otherwise.

 

Continue to Part III here : https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2013/03/09/my-guide-to-the-papal-conclave-part-iii-from-the-election-of-the-new-pope-to-the-urbi-et-orbi-blessing-by-the-new-pope/

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Press briefing on the conclusion of the General Congregations of the College of Cardinals

The Ninth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals have been concluded this Saturday morning, 9 March 2013, and as the date of the beginning of the Conclave came closer (Tuesday, 12 March 2013), Fr. Federico Lombardi, head of the Holy See Press Office clarifies certain matters involving the sede vacante period and the upcoming Conclave.

The Conclave will be preceded by a Solemn Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff or the Missa pro Eligendo Pontifice/Papa on Tuesday morning, 12 March 2013 in St. Peter’s Basilica, and then on the same day, Tuesday, in the afternoon, the Cardinals will proceed into the Sistine Chapel to officially begin the Conclave.

The famous chimney which will release the signal whether a new Pope had been elected, had been installed on the roof of the Sistine Chapel on Friday morning, after long work by the technicians in the installing the two stoves where the ballots will be burned after the ballots, and the chimney itself, linked directly to the stoves inside the Sistine Chapel.

The Ring of Fisherman, two papal stamps bearing the image of the Ring of the Fisherman, and the master lead seal, also bearing the Ring’s image, which is used for major documents, have been decommissioned by defacement of the Ring’s image, and therefore while the Ring of the Fisherman has not been completely destroyed,

A commission has been created to ensure that the Conclave has indeed been sealed entirely from the outside world, with no external portal of entry and ensuring that no one tampers with the seal of the Conclave until a new Pope had been elected. Strong frequency and signal jammers had also been installed to prevent any wiretapping and bugging of the Sistine Chapel and the areas where the Cardinals will reside throughout the Conclave.

It is noted that if the Conclave has not been successful to elect a new Pope after three full days (a new Pope can only be elected if he receives more than two-thirds of all the votes of the Cardinal-electors, or 77 votes), the voting sessions will be adjourned for a day of prayer and reflection, so that in the event of the upcoming voting sessions, the Cardinals can gain a new inspiration of the Holy Spirit and therefore hopefully elect a new Pope as soon as possible.

The Motu Proprio released earlier by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 has modified the rules of the election as written in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, as it no longer allows the Cardinal-electors to revert to an absolute majority system once a certain number of days have passed (many days), and the Motu Proprio once again made the election of the new Pope by two-thirds majority alone.

The bells of St. Peter’s Basilica and also the other bells of the churches throughout Rome will also be rung once the new Pope had been elected, just as they were in 2005 conclave, to reinforce and affirm the white smoke signal released through the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.

About 45 minutes or more may pass between the election of the new Pope and his appearance on the Loggia or the balcony of the St. Peter’s Basilica, as there are rites that the new Pope had to go through in the time between, beginning with the acceptance of the election, the entry into the Room of Tears where the Pope will change into his new white Papal cassock, and then homage from all the Cardinals, and of course the announcement of the Habemus Papam by the Cardinal Protodeacon, Jean-Louis Tauran himself, before the new Pope will make his appearance on the balcony.

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Summary of the Fifth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals : Thursday, 7 March 2013

The Fifth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals was held this morning, Thursday, 7 March 2013. All the Cardinal-electors, all 115 of them who will be voting to elect the new Pope in the upcoming Conclave, are already in Rome and had taken part in the meeting this morning.

No date has yet been fixed for the start of the Conclave, although the afternoon session, that is the Sixth General Congregation may decide just that, or the Seventh one, which will be held tomorrow, Friday, 8 March 2013 morning at 9.30 am. Fr. Federico Lombardi, the head of the Holy See Press Office mentioned that he is not certain whether the College of Cardinals will be deciding the date of the Conclave by the afternoon meeting or not.

If there is any immediate decision on the Conclave date in the afternoon meeting, Fr. Lombardi will announce it through message to journalists at 7 pm Rome time today (Thursday), or corresponding to 6 pm UTC / 1 pm EST / 10 am PST / Friday at 1 am for West Indonesia and UTC+7 areas / Friday at 2 am for Singapore, Malaysia, HK, China, and other UTC+8 areas.

The Fifth General Congregation saw more Cardinals using their chances to speak, with 51 Cardinals having spoken so far in the past five General Congregations. As today’s fifth meeting saw the release of economic reports of the Holy See from several organisations in the Roman Curia handling the Holy See’s economics, some of the Cardinal’s speeches address those economic reports, while others focus more on the role of the Church in charitable works in the world, and the work in ecumenism and dialogue with other religions.

16 interventions were made by the Cardinals today, with 3 interventions dealing with the economic reports as mentioned, and others discussing the matters of the conclave, most importantly the profile, the much needed profile and who the next Pope should be and the necessary qualities he should have, and what is his characteristics that the Cardinals should seek in electing the right person for the position.

A video was shown in the press briefing on the works in the Sistine Chapel and the installation of the chimney and the stoves for burning the ballots, as well as the erasure of Pope Benedict XVI’s coat-of-arms from the Vatican Garden’s large coat-of-arms made with plants and flowers, depicting the Pope’s coat-of-arms. The particular coat-of-arms of Pope Benedict XVI was removed, while the papal tiara and the golden and silver keys of the Papacy remained in place.

The fifth meeting also highlighted issue of the oath of secrecy, which are taken in the case of the Conclave, the General Congregation meeting, as well as when the College deem it necessary for media blackout to be imposed to avoid any unwanted leak of information.

It is not certain at this time whether there will be two meetings tomorrow, Friday, 8 March 2013 as it was today. The confirmed meeting is the morning session’s Seventh General Congregation, which may indeed be the one that decides the Conclave date. After all, Fr. Lombardi made it clear in the press briefing that the Conclave is strictly more a time for solemn prayers and decisions, and voting itself.

All forms of discussions, discernments, speeches, and raising up issues pertaining to the Church should indeed be done at this time, during the General Congregation, and not during the Conclave. Hence, the reason why the General Congregation meetings should not be rushed, but rather be meticulously done, so that when these meetings are over, possibly by this weekend, the Cardinal-electors will be ready to enter the Sistine Chapel for the Conclave, possibly this coming Monday, 11 March 2013.

In the meanwhile, let us continue to pray for the Church, for all our Cardinals, and the Cardinal-electors, and for the smooth proceedings of the remaining General Congregations, as well as the Conclave later.

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Sistine Chapel being prepared for the Conclave : Prospects for the Conclave to begin in the next few days

Sistine Chapel, where the Conclave to elect the new Pope will take place has been closed to public since Tuesday afternoon, 5 March 2013. Since then, extensive works had been done on the Sistine Chapel to install the necessary items needed for the Conclave, such as the tables and chairs for the Cardinal-electors, the electrical wiring and equipments needed at the Conclave, and of course most importantly, the two stoves on which the ballots will be burned, and linked to the famous chimney, will be the first sign to the world if a new Pope had been elected.

http://www.romereports.com/palio/sistine-chapel-gets-ready-historic-chimney-brought-in-for-conclave-english-9269.html#.UTdJyVeJegE

As the College of Cardinals hold two General Congregation (Fifth and Sixth) meetings today, and the works for the preparation of the Conclave is going full speed at the moment, we can expect the date to be finalised by today, as the last Cardinal-elector is scheduled to reach Rome on Thursday morning, and the Conclave may begin as reported on Monday, 11 March 2013.