The recent death of Pope Francis comes as a shock as the now previously filled position has become vacant. This means that a new Pope has to be determined to replace Pope Francis. But that begs the question, how is a Pope chosen? After all, we haven’t had a Pope selection since 2013.
First, to qualify as a candidate for being the Pope, they have to be a Priest. A priest must be at least 25 years of age and be a man. They’ll then move on to being a bishop in which they must be at least 35 years old and have been a priest for 5 years minimum.
The next step to being a candidate is the process of being selected to become the archbishop. The Pope has to choose a bishop for archbishop. Then the last step is becoming a cardinal. Being a cardinal is the second highest rank just after the Pope. To be selected as a cardinal you’ll have to be secluded directly by the pope from a list of other candidates. If you succeed and become a cardinal, you now qualify to become a Pope. However, a Pope candidate must be under 80.
The first step in choosing a Pope is the current Pope either stepping down or dying. Once the Pope’s spot is vacant, the cardinals host a series of meetings in the Vatican called general congregations. This takes place before they vote for the next Pope and is used to discuss the future of the church. After the meetings end, all eligible candidates among the cardinals who are under 80 are called to the selection process called the papal conclave. The papal conclave is a gathering of cardinals in which they elect the new Pope. All cardinals will have all electronics taken away and contact with the outside world limited.
Once they are inside the Sistine Chapel they begin the process of voting. They cast their votes into a ballot after saying a prayer. To become the next Pope, a candidate must have two-thirds of the cardinal’s vote. If none of the candidates receive two-thirds of the votes the ballots are burned and they go back to voting. They then proceed to do this four times a day until they’ve chosen a cardinal. When they burn the ballot and a Pope hasn’t been selected the smoke that comes out the chimney is black. However, if they have chosen a Pope the smoke will turn white.
Once a cardinal has two-thirds of the vote, the dean of the College of Cardinals asks them if they accept the election. If they say yes the new Pope picks a papal name and is dressed in papal vestments. Then the ballot is burned, producing a white smoke announcing to the world a new Pope has been picked. This process takes around 2-3 weeks.