Papal Conclave, Benedict’s new rules

ROME - On the very last day of His pontificate, this February 28 at 5 p.m., Benedict XVI will leave His apartment on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace to reach by helicopter his retreat at Castel Gandolfo. Benedict will become the “pope emeritus” and the Roman Catholic Church will enter the sede vacante, the period between papacies during which cardinals have to decide when the conclave - the closed-door, ultra-secret series of votes to pick the next pope - will begin. During this period, it's up to the College of Cardinals, plus a few additional Vatican officials, to keep the heart of the church running. The “Universi Dominici Gregis” a set of guidelines released in 1996 by John Paul, says the Vatican offices that remain active during the sede vacante include the vicar of Rome (Agostino Vallini), who oversees everyday matters the local Roman church and the Major Penitentiary (cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro), who deals with what are called “matters of mercy”, such as confessions, absolutions and dispensations. The camerlengo (Tarcisio Bertone, also the pope's deputy until he officially steps down) and an office called the Apostolic Chamber are left to oversee the state's finances and property, with an auditor general and a vice camerlengo assisting.



On Friday, March 1, the first official day of the sede vacante, Angelo Sodano, an Italian who is the College of Cardinals' dean, will formally invite cardinals to Rome to start their post-pope meetings. Most or all will already be in the city, from the former pope's last meeting with them. The general congregations, a series of daily meetings that are a mix church business as well as chances to get to know and learn about each other (and scope out the potential next pope), are expected to start Monday. It’s up to the general congregations to decide when the conclave will begin. Tipically, conclaves are supposed to happen at least 15 days and no more than 20 days after the sede vacante begins, but with latest motu proprio “Norma nonnullas” (dated February 22) Benedict himself changed the rules to allow an earlier start. The first day of conclave, Cardinals will meet in the morning in St. Peter's Basilica for the “Missa Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice” celebrated by the dean. In the afternoon, only voters – with their choir dress - will go in procession singing the “Veni Creator” from the Sistine Chapel to St. Paul prepared for the occasion and cleaned up from any audiovisual medium. Only cardinals who are under 80 years old are eligible to participate in the conclave and vote: that leaves 117 cardinals, with 114 expected to be present and vote. His Eminence Sodano, being overage, will not be able to participate, as the vice-dean Roger Etchegaray. For this conclave, then, the task normally hold by the Dean will be held by another Italian, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation of Bishops, Giovanni Battista Re.



"Conclave" comes from the Latin words "cum clave" that indicate that cardinals will remain locked in the Sistine Chapel until the election of the successor of Benedict XVI. Cardinals will vote by secret ballot, and are banned from contact outside the conclave, including the use of cell phones, social media and the Internet. First the junior Cardinal Deacon draws by lot nine names: three become Scrutineers, three Revisers and three Infirmarii (those in charge to collect the votes of any cardinal falling ill during the conclave). The Masters of the Ceremonies prepare ballot papers bearing the words Eligo in Summum Pontificem ("I elect as Supreme Pontiff") and provide at least two to each cardinal elector, then leave the Sistine Chapel. The cardinal electors then proceed, in order of precedence, to take their completed ballots (which bear only the name of the individual voted for) to the altar, where the Scrutineers stand. Before casting the ballot, each cardinal elector takes a Latin oath, which translates to: “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”. The conclave can last several days and include up to for votes each day. Ballots are burned and smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel twice daily, with black smoke meaning cardinals have failed to agree on the new pope. To win the election, a cardinal must receive at least two-thirds the votes of his peers (limit reintroduced by Benedict XVI in 2007).



During the voting procedure, held in the Sistine Chapel, cardinals will stay closely guarded in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, a modern building built just for this purpose. To go from one place to the other, the cardinal electors can choose the bus or walk, but they can not be approached in any way by strangers. From the 34th counting on, there’s a run-off between the two most voted cardinals, but each of them can win only by a two-thirds majority. Along with the bells, white smoke coming out the Sistine Chapel signals that a new Pope was chosen. The crowd waits anxiously in St. Peter's Square and the new pope is dressed to be presented to the faithful. The senior Cardinal Deacon (the Cardinal Protodeacon) – a French, Jean-Louis Tauran - will then proclaim the historic announcement: “Habemus Papam”. The new pope will appear from the “loggia” to give his first apostolic blessing, Urbi et Orbi (“to the City of Rome and to the World”).