Voting for the Pope

No earlier than 15 days and no later than 20 after the death or resignation of a pope, all cardinals are summoned to Rome for a secret conclave. Conclave comes from the Latin word cum clave, meaning with key because cardinals are quite literally locked into the Sistine Chapel until they elect a new pope.

After all the cardinals are gathered inside the chapel, they begin deliberations. The cardinals are permitted no contact with the outside world during the conclave. Under threat of excommunication (being expelled from the church), no cardinal is allowed to discuss what happens in the conclave, in order to keep outside political influence to a minimal amount.

A two-thirds majority is needed in order to elect the pope. When voting for the pope, each cardinal writes a name on a piece of paper, then places it on a golden paten (plate). The paten is then turned upside down so the paper can fall into a chalice (cup) underneath. There is a lot of symbolism in this gesture, since the Catholic Mass uses those two objects for the bread and wine during the Eucharistic Prayer (more on that in the future).

If no person receives two-thirds of the vote, or if the nominee declines, then wet straw is mixed with the paper ballots and burned in the chimney. This combination results in black smoke, alerting outside observers that a majority has not yet been reached. There is one vote in the morning and another in the evening. This pattern continues every day for 21 elections. If there is still no supermajority by the 22nd election, a simple majority (50 percent plus 1) is used. Once someone wins the election and accepts the nomination, the ballots are burned without straw and white smoke is seen outside by observers.

Traditionally, papal elections took place in 3 different forms:

Acclamation: A name is presented and all the cardinals consent without using the secret ballot.

Compromise: If no one achieved a 2/3 majority after several ballots, then the entire College of Cardinals would choose a handful of electors to make the decision for the entire body. A unanimous vote was necessary to employ compromise.

Scrutiny: Each cardinal proposes a candidate and gave reasons for his qualifications before the individual cardinals cast their ballots. This is the only method that the papal conclave uses in the present era.

Once a cardinal receives a two-thirds majority vote, he is asked if he accepts the nomination. If he answers yes, he is then asked, "By what name are you to be addressed?" In 533, Pope John II became the first pope to change his name when elected. Since he was born with the pagan name "Mercury," he changed it to the more Christian name of John. However, after Sergius IV was elected in 1009, all subsequent popes would also change their names upon their election. Pope John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla and Pope Benedict XVI was Joseph Ratzinger until his election.