THE Catholic Church will begin its centuries old process of choosing a new Pope after the passing of Pope Francis whose real name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
First, a very private and traditional process called a conclave will take place where top ranking leaders of the Catholic Church called Cardinals will gather in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to vote for a new pope.
According to the book of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, only Cardinals who are 80 or under can take part in the voting.
In this case only 138 Cardinals will be eligible to vote out of the 252 Cardinals.
Before the voting begins, the Cardinals take part in a special Mass then walk into the Sistine Chapel while chanting prayers and asking the Holy Spirit for guidance.
Surrounded by Michelangelo’s famous paintings, they take an oath to keep everything secret.
There after, they enter the chapel, all non-cardinals leave and the doors are closed.
Inside the locked chapel, each Cardinal writes the name of the person they believe should be Pope on a small piece of paper.
They then go to the altar, declare their vote is honest and place the folded paper into a special container.
To become Pope, a candidate needs a two-thirds majority vote.
After each round of voting, the ballots are burned.
If no Pope has been chosen, a black smoke rises from the chimney and if the voting results in a new pope, white smoke rises which signals the long-awaited sign to the world that a new leader of the Catholic Church has been chosen.
Once chosen, the new Pope is asked, “Do you accept your election as Supreme Pontiff?” If he says yes, he then picks the name he will be known by as Pope, for example we all knew Pope Francis as Francis because that’s the name he chose for himself.
According to this book, the new Pope then changes into the traditional white robe and the Cardinals come forward one by one to pledge their loyalty.
Then, the new Pope steps onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time, where crowds in the square and millions watching around the world wait to hear the words: “Habemus Papam” (We have a pope).
What happens now that Pope Francis has died?
Pope Francis died at age 88 after battling serious health problems, including pneumonia and kidney failure.
He had been hospitalised two months before his death.
Now that he has passed, the Catholic Church has entered an official nine-day period of mourning.
His funeral is expected to be held within six days.
Before anything else, a Vatican official known as the Chamberlain, currently Cardinal Kevin Farrell had to officially confirm his death by calling out the Pope’s name three times at his bedside.
After that, the Pope’s ring known as the Fisherman’s Ring will be removed and broken with a hammer to show that his papacy has ended.
The Pope’s private apartments will also be sealed.
Pope Francis’s body will be dressed in red robes and a white mitre (a ceremonial hat), then placed in St. Peter’s Basilica where the public can come and pay their respects for three days.
Although most popes are buried beneath St. Peter’s, Pope Francis requested something different.
He will be buried at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, a church he loved and visited often.
In fact, he used to pray there before and after every overseas trip.
He even made over 100 visits to that church during his time as Pope.
Unlike previous Popes who were buried in several nested caskets, Pope Francis chose a simpler burial in a wooden coffin lined with zinc.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, April 21, 2025
