The death of a Pope and the choice of his successor entail a series of rigorously established times and rituals. , there are three main novelties: the funeral protocol has been simplified; He will not be buried in the Vatican, but in the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor of Rome; And the conclave may begin before what is usual and it is not necessary to wait 15 days. A new Benedict XVI standard in 2013 introduced the possibility of starting when all cardinals are in Rome, without further delay. This will be decided in the next few days. Naturally, the most important novelty will be the name of the new Pontiff, one of the 136 cardinals who will enter the most international conclave in history.
Burning and funeral chapel
Francisco had already advanced that the funeral of Benedict XVI, “with the body of the Pope exposed in the coffin, in a catafalco,” would be the last one held in that way. He didn’t like him too much. funeral to “the potatoes are veiled and buried like any child of the Church.” “With dignity, but not on pillows. In my opinion, the ritual was too recharged,” he explained in an interview. As the office of liturgical celebrations then explained, he wanted the funeral “of a shepherd and a disciple of Christ and not someone powerful of this world.”
The renewal of the ritual in April 2024, regulated in the The Roman Pontiffintroduced several changes to expedite it. The finding of death is no longer done in the deceased’s room, but in the chapel. The body is immediately introduced into the wooden coffin, with internal zinc cover, and is taken to the basilica directly (before a stage in the apostolic palace). There the faithful will be exposed with the coffin open for three days. Then the funeral will be celebrated.
The main novelty will be the place of the grave. Francisco has chosen the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor, close to the Termini station, not the Vatican Grutas where 23 popes rest. It is a loved place for him, for his devotion to the so -called Madonna of the Romans, the Virgin Salus Populi Romani, where he went to pray after his choice and went before each trip. In the grave the three traditional coffins of cypress, lead and oak that were used so far will be eliminated. Before Francisco other modern pontiffs chose to be buried outside the Vatican. For example, Pío IX, in San Lorenzo Extramuros, or Leo XIII, in San Juan de Letrán.
Nine -day vacancy and mourning headquarters
called novelty. In the vacancy period, the authority for administrative and management decisions of the Vatican falls to the figure of Camarlengo, which since 2019 is the American cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell. It is the one who certifies the death of the pontiff, cancels the pontifical ring and closes the papal rooms. Then he communicates the death of Cardinal Vicar of Rome. The shrimp governs with the help of three cardinals, chosen to luck, renewed every three days. The funeral is celebrated not before four days after the death of the pontiff, and not after six.
The other relevant figure on these dates is the dean of the Cardinal College, which is the one who summons the other cardinals for the conclave and organizes the previous meetings. Since 2020, the Dean is the Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, but as he is over 80 years old, age limit to participate in the election of the Pope, he will not be able to preside over it. It will be the oldest cardinal of the order of the bishops, which is Pietro Parolin, so far Francisco Secretary of State, his number two.
The cardinals meet in assembly to pray and exchange impressions in the so -called general congregations. It is a decisive moment because the interventions of the cardinals distinguish some of them and the most authorized voices indicate the great issues and challenges at stake. In this way the first consensus are created, the first candidates are forged and votes begin to be brought.
Conclave
The conclave to choose the new Pope is celebrated between 15 and 20 days after the death of the pontiff. This long period was thought of the past to give the cardinals time to arrive in Rome from all parts of the world (at this time there are 136 of 71 countries from the five continents). However, this time a provision added by Benedict XVI will come into force for the first time shortly before resigning, in 2013. It establishes that the start of the conclave can be advanced if all participants have already arrived in Rome.
The cardinals stay in the residence of Santa Marta, within the Vatican, that John Paul II built for this purpose, after the penalties and logistics difficulties of the 1978 conclave where he was chosen. From there they come and go to the Sistine Chapel every day, where votes are celebrated. The first day is made a single vote, tanteo. Then two are always made in the morning and two in the afternoon.
At the end of both scrutiny of the morning and in the afternoon the famous smoketo communicate the result, unless in the first or third one there is already a positive result. The smoke is black if there is no potato, and white if there is already a new pontiff. The person who announces to the world who is the new Pope, from the balcony of the Basilica of San Pedro, is the so -called Cardinal Protodiácono, the first cardinal of the order of deacons, which is the French Dominique Mamberti.
He quorum necessary to choose the new Pope is two thirds, to seek maximum consensus. That is, 90 votes, if all cardinals enter the conclave with the right to it, because sometimes some do not do so due to illness or if they have been protagonists of any scandal.
John Paul II introduced a controversial norm that allowed us to move on to the absolute majority from vote number 34, something that gave rise to think that a group with that amount of votes could endure until that moment came. But Benedict XVI annulled it in 2007, and only allowed from that moment to decide only among the two candidates with more support.
Cardenalicio College
The Cardenalicio College is divided into two categories, voters (participating in the conclave) and not electors, which are the over 80 years. At this time, 252 marinated, of which they have the right to vote in the 138 conclave. Pablo VI left a limit of 120 participants, but it is an orientative figure, because there is no way to establish an exact number. The cardinals are periodically appointed every certain number of years, while some are spending 80 years or die.
Cardinal Geography
It is the most varied in history, a trend that has accelerated in the last half century. Of the 138 cardinals, Europeans remain the most numerous, 53, but no majority constitute. Asia follows, with 24; Africa, with 18; and South America with 17. North America has 16 and Central America, four. Oceania, another four. The most cardinal countries are Italy (17), the United States (10), Brazil (seven), and India, Spain and France with five.
The Spanish cardinals are actually eight, because three others that occupy episcopal venues abroad must be added. The five that arrive from Spain are: Carlos Osoro, Archbishop Emeritus of Madrid; Antonio Cañizares, archbishop emeritus of Valencia; Juan José Omella, archbishop of Barcelona; Ángel Fernández, senior rector of the Salesians; and José Cobo, archbishop of Madrid. However, there are eight because three other Spaniards that occupy episcopal headquarters abroad must be added: the emeritus archbishop of Santiago de Chile, Celestino Aós; the bishop of Ajaccio, in Corsica, François-Xavier Bustillo; and the archbishop of Rabat, Cristóbal López Romero.
