voting

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Cardinal Giovanni Batista Re (Italy), Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Bishops turns 80, ceases to be a Cardinal-elector

VATICAN POPE HOLY THURSDAY

Today, Thursday, 30 January 2014, Cardinal Giovanni Batista Re of Italy, Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto, the Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Bishops, turns 80, and therefore, according to the rules written in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, he loses his right to vote in any future conclave.

Cardinal Giovanni Batista Re was made Cardinal-Priest of Ss. XII Apostoli by Pope John Paul II in the 2001 Consistory of Cardinals on 21 February 2001, the eighth Consistory of his pontificate. Cardinal Re was made a Cardinal in honour of his long service to the Church as the Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops and the College of Cardinals from 1987 to 1989, and works in the Secretariat of State, until in 2000 when he was appointed the Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Cardinal Re was promoted as one of the six Cardinal Bishops in the Church in 2002, after the passing of Cardinal Bernardin Gantin of Benin.

RE Giovanni Battista

In his position as the senior Cardinal Bishop under 80 in 2013 Conclave, he is the Acting Dean of the College of Cardinals in the 2013 Papal Conclave which elected Pope Francis as the 266th Pope and Leader of the Universal Church.

http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/cardJP2-8.htm#134

May God bless His Eminence Cardinal Re, with a blessed old age and health. May he remain strong in the faith and hopefully can perhaps still continue to work great graces and good works of love and peace in his old age and retirement, as he continued to minister to the people of God.

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The College of Cardinals now stands at 199 members in total, with 106 Cardinal-electors and 93 Cardinal non-electors. There are now vacancy of 14 Cardinal-electors as compared to the maximum number of electors allowed in the Conclave of 120, although Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI had sometimes surpassed this limit.

Next Cardinal-elector to age out (80) will be Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, the current Metropolitan Archbishop of Thanh-Pho Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), on 5 March 2014.

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Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Archbishop Emeritus of Mechelen-Brussel (Belgium), turns 80, ceases to be a Cardinal-elector

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Today, Tuesday, 4 June 2013, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Cardinal-Priest of S. Anastasia, and Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Mechelen-Brussel, Belgium, turns 80, and therefore, according to the rules written in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, he loses his right to vote in any future conclave.

Cardinal Godfried Danneels was made Cardinal-Priest of S. Anastasia by Blessed Pope John Paul II in the 1983 Consistory of Cardinals on 2 February 1983, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the second of his pontificate.

http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/cardJP2-2.htm#39

May God bless His Eminence Cardinal Danneels, with a blessed old age and health. May he remain strong in the faith and hopefully can perhaps still carry out the mission God had given him.

The College of Cardinals now stands at 205 members in total, with 112 Cardinal-electors and 93 Cardinal non-electors. There are now vacancy of 8 Cardinal-electors as compared to the maximum number of electors allowed in the Conclave of 120, although Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI had sometimes surpassed this limit.

Next Cardinal-elector to age out (80) will be Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Santiago (Chile) on 5 September 2013.

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Cardinal Audrys Juozas Backis of Vilnius, Lithuania retired and succeeded by Bishop Gintaras Linas Grusas

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Cardinal Audrys Juozas Backis, Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius in Lithuania, also the Cardinal-Priest of Nativita di Nostro Signore Gesu Cristo a Via Gallia, retired yesterday, Friday, 5 April 2013 from his position as the Archbishop of Vilnius, having exceeded the expected retirement age of 75, according to the Canon Law.

http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/viln0.htm#45455

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Bishop Gintaras Linas Grusas, who was the Military Ordinary of Lithuania, replaces Cardinal Backis, becoming the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius.

Cardinal Backis, who is currently 76 years old (born 1 February 1937) will still be a Cardinal-elector with right to vote in any future conclave until his 80th birthday on 1 February 2017.

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Third Ballot : Black smoke from the chimney of Sistine Chapel. No Pope had been elected yet.

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At around 11.45 am in the morning on Wednesday, 13 March 2013 in Rome, black smoke poured out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, slightly earlier than predicted. Therefore, as of the third ballot we do not have a new Pope elected yet.

Be prepared for the fourth ballot, since it is just possible that in that ballot a new Pope will be elected, since if there is a clear candidate that is worthy of election, the Cardinal-electors may converge on him, and the election may occur at the fourth ballot, if not then the fifth ballot.

Keep praying for our Cardinal-electors!

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Second Ballot : No smoke. No Pope had been elected yet

As there was no ‘early’ smoke on Wednesday morning, 13 March 2013 in Rome, it is safe to assume that no Pope had been elected in the second ballot. This is because, instead of the usual 2 ballots per session then burn the ballots of both together at the end (session = morning/afternoon), if a Pope is elected on the first of these two ballots, the second ballot will obviously not take place, and thus, the smoke will be early, and will definitely also be white.

This was also the early sign that a Pope had been elected in 2005, when the afternoon smoke went early (this was after the fourth ballot, first of two afternoon ballots) at near 6 pm Rome time, when the smoke, which should have been later if no Pope was elected.

It may be more likely that the white smoke will appear after the third ballot, or the fourth ballot.

Watch live at : http://www.romereports.com/palio/modules.php?name=Content3&pa=showpage&newlang=english&pid=47#.UUA0qBzLoj7

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First Ballot : Black Smoke, no Pope had been elected yet

http://www.romereports.com/palio/pope-not-yet-elected-black-smoke-comes-out-of-sistine-chapel-english-9378.html

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Black smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel for the first ballot, and the only ballot on the first day of Conclave, Tuesday, 12 March 2013.

The next voting rounds will be on Wednesday, 13 March 2013, composed of morning session (2nd and 3rd ballots), and the afternoon session (4th and 5th ballots).

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A Timetable of the First Day of Conclave

What will happen today in the first day of the Conclave (Tuesday, 12 March 2013)? All the time noted below are in Rome time (CET, Central European Time, 1 hour ahead of UTC (UTC+1)).

Some event are live from Vatican Player at http://www.vatican.va/video/ and the live recording from Rome Reports : http://www.romereports.com/palio/modules.php?name=Content3&pa=showpage&newlang=english&pid=47#.UT4XGVeJegH

 

1. (Live) Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff / Missa pro Eligendo Pontifice : 10 am. This Mass will officially begin the Conclave and will be offered for prayers for the election of the Pope.

2. Cardinal-electors leave the Domus Sancta Marthae where they stay for the Pauline Chapel : 3.45 pm

3. (Live) Cardinal-electors begin the procession into Sistine Chapel from Pauline Chapel, while singing Veni Creator Spiritus and the Litany of the Saints : 4.30 pm

4. (Live) Oath of secrecy by the Cardinal-electors and the extra omnes order by Monsignor Guido Marini : 4.45 pm, then meditation by Cardinal Prosper Grech of Malta (2nd meditation)

5. Conclave and first ballot : about 5 pm – 7 pm, smoke should appear between 7-8 pm Rome time. If white, means a new Pope has been elected, but this is unlikely to happen. (Smoke and the chimney can be seen live through either Vatican Player or Rome Reports page I mentioned above)

6. Vespers celebrated by the Cardinal-electors : 7.15 pm

7. Cardinal-electors return to Domus Sancta Marthae, their residence during the period of the Conclave : 7.30 pm

 

These are just rough timing, and as this is the first ballot, the Cardinal-electors may still need time, especially the first-timers, in getting used to the rules and proceedings of the Conclave and thus might be delayed slightly.

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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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Ninth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals : Saturday, 9 March 2013

The ninth and probably the last of the General Congregations of the College of Cardinals will take place on Saturday morning at 9.30 am, 9 March 2013, and may be used as an opportunity to clear up outstanding matters and issues, and to help the Cardinals to affirm what they are looking as the characteristics needed in the new Pope, which they will elect in the Conclave that will begin on Tuesday, 12 March 2013.

Now that the date of the Conclave has already been decided, the remaining matter to be completed is to assign the rooms in the Domus Sancta Marthae where the Cardinals will stay during the duration of the Conclave. The room assignment is done by lots and therefore is random, and may be done in the Ninth General Congregation this morning.

The Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff or the Missa pro Eligendo Pontifice, has also been confirmed to take place at St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday morning before the commencement of the Conclave on Tuesday afternoon, when the Cardinals will march into the Sistine Chapel and henceforth be ‘closed-off’ from the outside world until the new Pope is elected.

Fr. Federico Lombardi, head of the Holy See Press Office will give his usual press briefing on Saturday afternoon at 1pm Rome time (1 pm CET // 12 pm UTC // 7 am EST // 4 am PST // 7 pm WIB or UTC+7 // 8 pm Singapore time or UTC+8).

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(Official) Conclave to begin on Tuesday, 12 March 2013

http://www.news.va/en/news/conclave-to-begin-tuesday-march-12th

The College of Cardinals have voted on the starting date of the conclave, and had decided in the Eighth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals, which takes place on Friday evening 8 March 2013, that the Conclave will begin on Tuesday, 12 March 2013 in the afternoon.

The Mass for the Election of the Roman Ponfiff or the Missa pro Eligendo Pontifice will be celebrated at St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday morning, 12 March 2013.

Let us pray for the Cardinal-electors going into the Conclave, that God will guide them through the Holy Spirit to make a careful and well-discerned choice to elect our new Pope, to be the shepherd of the Universal Church.