What steps remain after the Pope’s funeral? Nine days of mourning and awaiting the date of the conclave

The last step after the Pope’s burial is the call of the conclave to choose the successor, which still has no date. The Archbishop of Madrid and Cardinal José Cobo said that the decision would be made on Monday. In total, 149 cardinals of the total of the 252 which make up the Cardinal College have already arrived in Rome, although only 133 vote in the conclave to choose the successor to be under 80 years old, a must.

Nine days of mourning

The funeral mark the start of the “novelty”, the period of nine days of mourning in the Vatican for the death of the pontiff. Francisco’s tomb can be visited this Sunday.

These days, general congregations take place. For the moment, four have been organized. It is in these meetings that the cardinals discuss the future of the Church. Many do not know, they did not have the opportunity to know the positions of others and, therefore, they do not have a clear idea of ​​what awaits them in the Sistine Chapel.

Conclave date

The Sistine Chapel announced its closure on April 28 to prepare for the conclave. It must be called on a date between fifteen and twenty days from the proclamation of the “vacant headquarters”, that is to say between May 5 and 10.

Who go from Spain?

In the case of Spain, there are four people: the Archbishop of Barcelona, ​​Juan José Omella; The Archbishop emeritus of Madrid Carlos Osoro; The former president of the government of Vatican Fernando Vérgez; The Archbishop of Madrid, José Cobo; The Rector of the Squalians and Profess of the Dicastery for the consecrated life, Ángel Fernández Artime. The Archbishop Emeritus of Valencia, Antonio Cañizares, will not go for health reasons.

In addition, three other Spanish cardinals will have a vote that will go from other parts of the planet: the Archbishop of Rabat, Cristóbal López Romero, that of Ajaccio, Navarro-French, François Xavier Bustillo Rípodas and Cardinal ángel Fernández Artime which received the Capo de Francisco.

A cardinal in discord

Can Angelo Becciu participate in the conclave which will choose the successor of Francisco? Bergoglio withdrew this right, but the cardinal thinks he can participate and, in fact, last Tuesday, he appeared in the first general congregation of the cardinals as a full member in the acts of the pope’s funeral and a meticulous examination to designate his successor. Or even chose. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni limited himself to confirming Purple’s participation already to say that any decision concerning the conclave will be made “after the funeral” of Francisco. For the moment, nothing else is known.

Isolation

The conclave is celebrated with the cardinals locked up to encourage the agreement and avoid interference. This practice appeared in 1270, when the inhabitants of Viterbo, then pontifical headquarters, were fed up with years of indecision, locked the “princes of the church” until they choose the successor. It worked and the designated was Gregorio X.

This historic day will start with the mass “Pro chooses Pope” in the Basilica of San Pedro, then the voters will treat the Sistine singing the “Veni Creator”. Once inside, before Miguel Ángel’s final judgment, they will swear, then the main ceremony will throw the others proclaiming “additional omnes” (all) and will close its doors to guarantee the most absolute intimacy (even frequency inhibitors are used).

How many votes a pope must be chosen

He no longer votes for acclamation or commitment but for a secret examination. To make the choice valid, two thirds of the votes are necessary.

The “ballot” will have three cardinals responsible for examining the process and three to examine it. The voting bulletins will be rectangular and in them it reads “Eligo in Summum Pontifiam”, while in the lower part, there will be a space to write the name of the elected official.

Then, each purple will bring its ballot to the ballot box and, before the scrupters, will pronounce the oath: “I witness the witness of Christ Lord, who will judge me, that I give my vote to whom in the presence of God, I think that it must be chosen.” Then he will place the ballot on a plate and with that, he will slip it into the ballot box.

Count

The first day of containment will take place only one vote and later, in the event of failure, two in the morning and two in the afternoon.

Once everyone has voted, proceed to count. The scrupters will read each ballot while another will take a note and a third party pierce them with water and thread, joining them in Ristra.

Smoking black, white little

After each vote, the votes will be burned on a stove installed for the occasion in the Sistine Chapel. The color of the smoke that comes out of the fireplace will announce the result abroad: if it is white, it means that an agreement has been concluded. If it is black, the conclave must follow. In the past, firewood or straw has been used to intensify smoke and avoid confusion, but now chemicals are used.

Acceptance and new name

Once a cardinal is imposed on the rest, the Dean, Giovanni Battista Re (in February 2025), will ask the elected official: “Do you accept your canonical choice for the High Pontiff?” To nod his head, he will ask him how he wants to be called.

Habemus Papam

The new sovereign pope is immediately taken to the sacristy of the Sistine Chapel, known as “Hall of Tears”, where three pontifical costumes of different sizes will be prepared (because it is impossible to know in advance which will be chosen).

The last step will be to announce the choice in the world: “Habemus papam” (we have the pope) is the formula that the protodiácono will exclaim from the balcony of the Vatican basilica. The new pontiff will then be presented to the world and will give his first blessing “Urbi et Orbi”.