In the aftermath of Pope Francis’s passing at the age of 88, the world enters a period of mourning and eulogizing for the Catholic Church’s head, the Bishop of Rome, and the sovereign leader of Vatican City. The Roman Catholic tradition dictates a solemn yet honorable funeral procession for the Pontiff. Among the upcoming events, a crucial one is the assembly of the College of Cardinals whose job it is to elect the successor for the papacy in a procedure known as the ‘conclave’. This centuries old ritual is steeped in history and religious customs, often conducted in Latin.
Following the Pope’s demise, Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Camerlengo or the steward of the Papal household, is tasked with the official confirmation. After the official confirmation of death, activities switch swiftly to the funeral arrangements. The funeral Mass, including viewing, will be located at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Vatican City’s most significant spiritual monument.
The eulogy, although not explicitly called that, takes the form of a homily during the Mass. This reflects on the life and achievements of the Pope as well as the teachings of the Scripture. Distinctively, Pope Francis, deviating from centuries-long tradition, expressed wishes for his remains to rest at his favored church, Saint Mary Major, instead of the usual Papal resting place beneath the basilica.
Pope Francis’s long-standing approach for simplicity extended beyond his life and into his funeral wishes. His main request was for a single casket open for viewing instead of the conventionally three-tiered setup. This is in line with the trend set by his life spent, not in the pride of the Papal palace, but in a humble guesthouse modeled after his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi.
Turning to the task of electing a new Pope, the ritual of Conclave is set into motion anywhere between 15 to 20 days after the Pope’s death. This timeframe allows for the mourning phase to conclude and transition into the administrative aspects concerning the operation of the church. This process commences as the College of Cardinals gather to deliberate the needs and direction of the church.
The entire College of Cardinals comprises 252 members, though not all members participate in voting. Only those who are aged 80 or younger are eligible to vote. Of the current College of Cardinals, 135 meet that cut-off, including the 76-year-old archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich.
Cardinal Cupich ranks as one of the 10 American Cardinals with voting rights and one of three having significant Chicago connections. The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, who typically organizes the conclave, is 91 thus ineligible to vote or attend.
The Conclave ritual evolved from the Italian meaning of ‘with a key,’ reflecting the privacy and seclusion of the procedure. It commences with an oath of secrecy by the Cardinals who sequester in Vatican City without contact to the outside world. Imposing severe penalties for anyone breaching this confidentiality, Pope Benedict XVI established excommunication as the punishment.
Once the Conclave begins, the Cardinals reside within Vatican City until the selection of the new Pope. Their accommodation is Saint Martha’s House, a nearby guesthouse where Pope Francis resided during his election and which he ultimately chose as his residence. The upgrade to St. Martha’s House in 1996 by Pope John Paul II provided an enhanced lifestyle for the voting members.
The election involves a rigorous voting process where each Cardinal casts four votes daily until a candidate obtains two-thirds majority (90 of 135 cardinal votes). If unresolved after 34 ballots, it narrows to the top two candidates. The voting process involves each Cardinal writing on a slip of paper and dropping it into a chalice, these votes being supervised by three cardinals, referred to as ‘scrutineers’, who tally and announce the results.
An interesting tradition seen during the Conclave process involves the use of smoke signals to communicate the status of the election to the public. Black smoke indicates an unsuccessful voting session, while we see white smoke when a new Pope has been selected. This is achieved using two stoves inside the Sistine Chapel, one for burning the ballots, and the other for generating the smoke signals.
The conclusion of this momentous event reaches its peak when the selected candidate consents to and steps into the role. The Pope-to-be then picks a Papal name and dons the papal vestments that distinguish his new position. A spokesperson reveals these details in a formal Latin announcement from the basilica’s balcony with the phrase ‘Habemus papam’, translating to ‘We have a Pope.’
The Pope then greets his followers from the balcony, issuing his first papal blessing to Rome and the world, expressed as ‘Urbi et orbi’. It was the second day into the Conclave selection process for Pope Francis back in 2013. However, the process is not always so swift, and the longest Conclave in history lasted an exhausting three years.
Notably, the new Pope can be any baptized Catholic man. Histories have shown though, that with rare exceptions, the Pope is chosen from within the College of Cardinals. It was also customary up until the later part of the 20th century to select Italian clergy, with Francis being the first from Latin America, specifically Argentina with Italian ancestry.
Throughout his Papacy, Pope Francis maintained a balance between traditions and progressive changes. While upholding strict rules against ordaining women, marrying same-sex couples, and allowing laypeople, he relaxed regulations for divorced individuals and enacted slight alterations for inclusivity in religious ceremonies, causing stir among conservative circles. Furthermore, he placed strong emphasis on caring for the impoverished and marginalized, though some critics argue he fell short concerning the Church’s handling of the ongoing sexual abuse crisis.
Today there are over a billion Catholics scattered across the globe, seeing growth in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, but a decline in Europe and the West. Within the U.S., one fifth of the adult population identifies as Catholic, with the metropolitan region of Chicago hosting the third-largest Catholic congregation nationwide. This includes four diocese entities with varying coverage of Chicago and the surrounding counties.
The post Pope Francis’s Legacy and the Road to Papal Succession appeared first on Real News Now.
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