White Smoke...How a Pope is elected

To become the world leader of Catholic Church is no easy feat. Getting to be a Pope involves intricate and intense religious intrigues that mostly consider seniority and influence of the candidates ­— all of them cardinals — going for the coveted seat.

Although lobbying and campaigning is completely outlawed in the voting of a new Pope, observers say it is mostly difficult to go through an election without such happenings.
“The Cardinal electors shall abstain from any form of pact, agreement, promise or other commitment of any kind, which could oblige them to give or deny their vote to a person or persons,” one of the rules guiding the election states.

The road to becoming the head of the Catholic Church in the world is long and winding, according to Father Peter Githinji, a Nyeri based priest familiar with the happenings at the Vatican.
“It is not a walk in the park. There are clear rules and procedures to be followed in electing a Pope and most of those participating in the process are eminent members of the church,” says Fr Githinji, who had a stint in Rome and was appointed by the Vatican as the Postulator of the Cause of Beatification of Blessed Sister Irene Stefani.

First, there must be a vacancy at the Holy See, which must be occasioned by death or when the holder of the office becomes incapacitated.
Electing a Pope is the prerogative of the College of Cardinals meeting in conclave at the special Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.

Only cardinals below the age of 80 are eligible to become the Head of the Catholic Church. They must be ordained priests and gone through the church hierarchy to become cardinals.

In case the Pope dies in office, the eligible cardinals meet in Rome, 15 to 20 days after the death is confirmed to pick a successor from among themselves in secret ballot.

According to a Catholic Church online publication, there must be a formal verification that the Pope is indeed dead for the process of replacing him to start.

The Catholic.org describes the period between the death or resignation of a Pope and the election of his successor as Interregnum — a Latin word meaning between the reigns.
In case of death, an official mourning period of nine days is observed with the countdown starting from the day of his death.

“The days after the funeral and before the Conclave — the meeting to elect a Pope — begins offers the cardinals an opportunity to discuss the state of the Church. Those participating in the election are not in any way allowed to behave in a manner which constitutes politicking or electioneering for office or for votes,” said Fr. Githinji.

According to the laid down procedures, the Conclave begins on the 15th day after the death of a Pope.

However, the College of Cardinals is given permission to defer its beginning ‘for serious reasons’ up to the 20th day after the vacancy. The meeting to elect a new Pope must begin on the 21st day of the vacancy or before that day.

On the morning of the first day in which the Conclave is to begin, the Cardinal Electors gather in St. Peter’s Basilica, or the College may determine another place to celebrate a votive Mass for the election of the Pope.

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In the afternoon, they gather in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace before proceeding to the Sistine Chapel where the election takes place.

The electors then take a solemn oath to observe the prescriptions of the law governing the election, to observe the secrecy obliged, to not assist any secular power, which may try to influence the election. They also swear that if elected, they will faithfully carry out the office duties and protect the spiritual and temporal rights of the Holy See.

Participating cardinals drawn from churches all over the world are not allowed to communicate with the outside world and are therefore not allowed to read newspapers, watch TV, have cellphones or receive messages from the outside world.

A new Pope must be elected by two-thirds majority of the participating cardinals during the voting.

In case this is not realised, they will continue voting twice per day until it is achieved but after 30 unsuccessful rounds of ballot, the cardinals may agree to accept simple majority of those present plus one vote.

During stalemate, the voting materials are set ablaze with a black smoke billowing from the chimney to signify that a Pope is yet to be found.

When the vote is successful and a candidate is chosen, a white smoke is seen from the chimney.