The conclave to elect the next Pope is currently underway at the Vatican. The presiding, just below the pope in the Roman Catholic class, will vote in a secret ballot for Pope Francis’ successor until one candidate has a majority.
You may not know what is being said during the conclave, but it’s off limits for outsiders – I have a pretty good idea of what it looks like. During the meeting, the cardiacs follow certain instructions and use some distinctive objects to facilitate the process. Many are ingrained in tradition.
Let’s take a look at some of these objects and the meaning behind them.
Voting method
When the Cardinals vote at the Sistine Chapel, they sit in a row of simple wooden tables. At one end of the chapel there is a large table set up for those who will run the vote, according to the UDG, one of the documents used to rule the Pope’s transition.
The room also includes a URN to receive your vote, a set of wooden balls, and a voting means including needles and bundles. ur is used to collect rectangular paper printed with the Latin phrase “summum pontificem” (“I was elected as the best pontifice”).
The vote includes space for each cardinal to write in the name of the candidate he has chosen. Votes are placed in bone n and counted and deleted after all cardinals have voted.
Wooden balls are used to track votes. The ball has numbers written to correspond to the number of cardinals voted in the conclave. As votes are counted, attendants will remove one of the wooden balls for each ballot and, according to Catholic advocates, previously a newspaper from the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, if the numbers don’t match, they must burn the vote without reading, and according to the UDG, they will match the number of cardinals to ensure that another vote is made immediately.
According to UDG, when the vote is being read, it is drilled into the thread by drilling holes in the thread through the word “Erigo” and “to save votes more safely.”
A member of the clergy and Conclave staff who took secret vows at Pauline Chapel earlier this week. Credit… Vatican
Secret Oath
Conclave is a secret facility and many steps have been taken to prevent leaks, including restricting the use of Cardinals’ mobile phones, the Internet and newspapers.
According to the Oath, members of Cardinal of, members of the Pope-electing organizations must also swear and sign a secret oath. Partly, “I observe absolute and lasting secrets with everyone who is not part of all cardinal selectors directly or related to all issues.
The Cardinals must also commit to not record anything in the Vatican city at the time of election. According to the oath, the punishment for breaking an oath is “automatic” excommunication.
Photo Sistine Chapel Temporary Stove provided by Vatican.Credit… Vatican
Stove
On the weekend before the conclave began, Vatican workers would set up simple stoves where votes would be burned in the Sistine Chapel. Firefighters also set up chimneys on the roof of the chapel, where smoke leaves the building.
After each round of vote, the vote is mixed with chemicals and releases black or white smoke when burned. Black smoke means that the cardiacs have not yet reached the required majority. White smoke means a new Pope has been elected and the vote has finished.
seal
At the beginning of the Conclave, the Apostles Palace, including the Sistine Chapel, is generally closed. On Wednesday, members of the Clergy Swiss Guard placed a bead rope with a security guard seal at the entrance to the palace to ensure privacy and maintain the secrets of the cardinals.
The Vatican City Government had also planned to deactivate mobile phone services within the territory starting Wednesday afternoon during Conclave.
The Pope’s Best
After the Pope is elected, he is taken to the “chamber of tears.” This was a small room next to the Sistine Chapel, where I first wore a white Pope cassock. Three sizes of clothing are prepared and stored in the room. Because we don’t know who the next Pope is or what size.
The room is known as the “chamber of tears.” This is because there is an explanation that the previous Pope was overwhelmed by the emotions in the room and shed tears after the election. He is first introduced to the public after the Pope is dressed.
