What is the papal conclave: Inside the ancient process of choosing the next pope

After a pope dies, the Catholic Church chooses its adjacent person done an past electoral process called the "papal conclave."

In practice, since astatine slightest 1276, the conclave gathers the church’s apical bishops – called the College of Cardinals – from astir the globe. Though determination are much than 240 cardinals currently, lone those nether the property of 80 are eligible to ballot successful the conclave and the fig of cardinal electors is constricted to 120.  

Nearly each prefects of Vatican offices suffer their jobs erstwhile a pope dies, but a fewer enactment on, including the overseas curate and the maestro of liturgical ceremonies, who play a cardinal relation successful assembling the conclave.

The conclave takes spot successful the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel and cardinals are kept successful strict isolation to support them acold from immoderate extracurricular power from the remainder of the world. This isolation is truthful important successful the process that adjacent the sanction conclave comes from the Latin "con clavis," which means "with key," indicating however the cardinal electors are locked up portion they deliberate implicit who volition beryllium the caller pope.

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Incense is formed implicit the coffin of Pope John Paul II by German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger during the ceremonial Mass successful St. Peter's Square connected April 8, 2005, successful Vatican City. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

There is besides an accent connected choosing a pope rapidly to lessen the magnitude of clip the religion spends without a leader. The cardinals formed their archetypal ballot the time the conclave begins. They past formed votes astatine slightest doubly each time aft – successful the greeting and evening – until a pope is selected.

The communal signifier successful the modern Catholic Church is for the cardinals to take a pope from among their ain ranks, though this was not ever the case.

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Pope Francis receives Vice President JD Vance, astatine the Vatican connected Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP, HO)

Conclaves volition typically statesman with a peculiar Mass celebrated successful St. Peter’s Basilica, successful which the cardinals invoke the Holy Spirit for guidance.

Cardinals ballot for the pope done a concealed ballot. At each vote, a cardinal volition constitute his prime connected a portion of paper, process up to Michaelangelo’s elephantine fresco of the past judgement – which serves arsenic a reminder of the gravity and sacredness of their work – and driblet his ballot successful a chalice.

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Cardinals of the Catholic Church be the predetermination conclave successful the Sistine Chapel connected April 18, 2005, astatine the Vatican. (Arturo Mari - Vatican Pool/ Getty Images)

A two-thirds bulk of votes is needed to prime a caller pope. More than two-thirds of the eligible cardinal electors were appointed by Pope Francis. However, these cardinals clasp a divers acceptable of viewpoints and travel from each antithetic parts of the world.

After each vote, the ballots are burned and the ashes are utilized to nonstop a awesome to the remainder of the satellite astir whether a determination has been made. Black fume rising from the Sistine Chapel means determination has not been a consensus, portion achromatic fume means a pope has been chosen.

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Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Müller, right, during a consistory successful St. Peter's Basilica. (Johannes Neudecker/picture alliance)

Once a cardinal receives a two-thirds bulk of the votes, the dean of the College of Cardinals asks him if helium is consenting to judge the position. If helium accepts, helium indispensable past take his papal name. Cardinal Jose Mario Bergoglio chose the sanction "Pope Francis," becoming the archetypal pope to take this name.

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After the satellite is alerted done the burning of achromatic smoke, the caller pope is announced with the astir elder cardinal proclaiming "Habemus papam!" – "We person a pope" – aft which the recently elected pontiff processes retired and imparts his archetypal blessing to the metropolis of Rome and the remainder of the world.