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There’s an old Italian adage that warns against betting on the presumed favorites ahead of a papal conclave. It cautions, “He who enters a conclave a pope, leaves it a cardinal.”
With Pope Francis dead at age 88, the Catholic Church’s next leader will likely be chosen from a group of cardinals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in both spiritual and organizational capacities.
The process of choosing the next pope is known as a conclave. This occurs after the death or resignation of a sitting pope. Following the papal vacancy, the College of Cardinals — consisting of cardinals from around the world — is summoned to Rome. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to participate in the voting.
These cardinals meet in the Sistine Chapel, where they cast votes to select the new pope. The voting is conducted in secret and a cardinal must receive a two-thirds majority to be elected.
If no one achieves the required majority, voting continues over several rounds. After each session, the ballots are burned: black smoke signals that a decision has not yet been made. When a new pope is elected, white smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, and the faithful outside St. Peter’s Basilica know a decision has been made.
The newly elected pope then appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to address the crowd and announce his selection.
Technically, any male Catholic over the age of 18 who has been ordained as a priest is eligible to become pope. However, in practice, the pope is typically chosen from among the 135 cardinals who will take part in the conclave.
Here are six men who could be among the most likely candidates to take the helm of the Vatican. Be warned that all of them may end up remaining cardinals when this process is complete:
Continued below.
religionunplugged.com
With Pope Francis dead at age 88, the Catholic Church’s next leader will likely be chosen from a group of cardinals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in both spiritual and organizational capacities.
The process of choosing the next pope is known as a conclave. This occurs after the death or resignation of a sitting pope. Following the papal vacancy, the College of Cardinals — consisting of cardinals from around the world — is summoned to Rome. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to participate in the voting.
These cardinals meet in the Sistine Chapel, where they cast votes to select the new pope. The voting is conducted in secret and a cardinal must receive a two-thirds majority to be elected.
If no one achieves the required majority, voting continues over several rounds. After each session, the ballots are burned: black smoke signals that a decision has not yet been made. When a new pope is elected, white smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, and the faithful outside St. Peter’s Basilica know a decision has been made.
The newly elected pope then appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to address the crowd and announce his selection.
Technically, any male Catholic over the age of 18 who has been ordained as a priest is eligible to become pope. However, in practice, the pope is typically chosen from among the 135 cardinals who will take part in the conclave.
Here are six men who could be among the most likely candidates to take the helm of the Vatican. Be warned that all of them may end up remaining cardinals when this process is complete:
Cardinal Pietro Parolin (Italy)
Continued below.
Frontrunners To Succeed Francis: 6 Cardinals Who Could Be The Next Pope
The Catholic Church’s next leader will likely be chosen from a group of cardinals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in both spiritual and organizational capacities. The process of choosing the next pope is known as a papal conclave. This occurs following the death or resignation of a sitt
religionunplugged.com
