Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at age 88, has been laid to relaxation on the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Main in Rome. Now, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church start voting Wednesday for a successor in an meeting generally known as a conclave. Solely cardinals youthful than 80 years previous are allowed to vote in a papal election. Whereas 135 cardinals are available below the age requirement of 80 and thus are eligible to vote, two withdrew from the voting for well being causes, so 133 will vote.
The phrase “conclave” is acquainted to many non-Catholics now because of the Hollywood function movie Conclave, which was launched in 2024 and is offered to look at on streaming providers.
Learn extra: The place to Watch Conclave, the Vatican Thriller About Electing a New Pope
The way to comply with the conclave
There is not any strategy to watch the true papal conclave, because it’s carried out contained in the partitions of the Sistine Chapel and is personal. The film, whereas entertaining and well-reviewed, is a fictional model. However the main information networks might be masking any information concerning the occasion.
Maybe essentially the most attention-grabbing strategy to comply with alongside is to tune in to the Vatican’s personal YouTube channel, which is streaming a dwell webcam from St. Peter’s Sq. in Rome, the massive public sq. exterior the Vatican buildings.
The information networks are additionally creating modern methods for individuals to comply with the conclave. NBC Information is providing a smoke cam, a webcam centered on the Sistine Chapel chimney the place white smoke will ultimately reveal when a pope has been chosen.
CNN has created a 3D visualization of what the conclave will appear like.
USA Right now has arrange a YouTube channel to stream protection of the conclave, starting from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET (3 a.m. to six a.m. PT) on Wednesday.
CBS will broadcast a particular report on the conclave anchored by Norah O’Donnell and Tony Dokoupil, starting at 10:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
Who’re the contenders?
A number of cardinals are thought of potential robust candidates for the papacy. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Italy is famous for his diplomatic efforts and alignment with Pope Francis’ imaginative and prescient. Cardinal Luis Tagle from the Philippines can be a distinguished determine, acknowledged for his advocacy for social justice and poverty alleviation. And Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana is being mentioned as a attainable first African pope within the trendy period.
Search for the white smoke
After the cardinals vote and their ballots are counted, the ballots are burned, and chemical substances are added to the flames to supply black smoke if there isn’t any majority. When a brand new pope has been chosen, chemical substances might be added to the flames to supply white smoke. Crowds collect in St. Peter’s Sq. to look at for the outcomes.
Within the film, Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, who spearheads the election of the subsequent pope whereas investigating rumors about potential candidates. The movie is predicated on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris and is fictional — although it does signify a few of the occasions of how precise papal conclaves happen. In March, the movie gained the Academy Award for greatest tailored screenplay.
The voting takes so long as it takes
Two-thirds of the cardinals’ votes are required to elect the subsequent pope. The conclave happens behind closed doorways, and the vote tally isn’t made public.
The conclave can take days and even weeks to conclude. Though within the thirteenth century, it reportedly took three years to decide on a pope, trendy conclaves have been a lot shorter. Pope Francis was elected in 2013 on the fifth poll on the second day of the conclave.
There can solely be two rounds of voting per day, and a candidate wants two-thirds of the votes, plus one to be elected. If that majority is not reached after three days of voting, the method pauses so the cardinals can pray and talk about their choices, CBS Information experiences.
No, Trump is not going to be pope
Any man who’s a baptized Catholic can technically be elected pope, however in actuality, the subsequent pope is chosen from the Faculty of Cardinals. Cardinals are senior members of the clergy and are chosen by the pope to function advisors to him.
Days earlier than Pope Francis’ funeral, US President Donald Trump advised reporters, apparently jokingly, “I might wish to be pope.” However as a non-Catholic, Trump just isn’t eligible to be pope.
Trump additionally shared an AI-generated picture of himself as pope on his Fact Social social media website final week. The official White Home account reposted the picture on X. Many didn’t discover the picture humorous.
“We simply buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a brand new successor of St. Peter,” the New York State Catholic Convention wrote on X. “Don’t mock us.”
Trump’s vice chairman, JD Vance, wrote on X that he was OK with the picture of Trump as pope. Vance was not raised Catholic however was baptized into the religion in 2019. “As a basic rule, I am superb with individuals telling jokes,” Vance wrote.
