The Conclave is a highly confidential gathering of eligible cardinals to elect the next Pope. PHOTO/SHUTER STOCK
As the Roman Catholic Church prepares to honour Pope Francis with a funeral and burial, the Vatican is already working behind the scenes to convene the Conclave, a highly confidential gathering of eligible cardinals to elect the next leader of about 1.4 billion members worldwide.
Pope Francis, the native of Argentina, formerly known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 after leading the Roman Catholic Church for 12 years.
He was elected into office on March 13, 2013, after five ballots following the resignation of Benedict XVI, who died on December 31, 2022, aged 95. Surprisingly, for nearly 10 years, Francis served as pope while predecessor Benedict XVI was still alive, both living in the Vatican.
What happens when the pope dies?
Pope Francis’ death set into motion a formal, age-old process that included certifying his death, arranging for his body to lie in state, organising a funeral and preparing for the election of a successor, with the camerlengo or pope’s chief of staff tasked with all arrangements.
The process started with mourning, where ceremonially, the pope's death was verified by calling out his baptismal name three times, and once there was no response, a death certificate was authorised and the event made public by notifying the cardinal vicar for the Diocese of Rome, currently Cardinal Camillo Ruini.
This was followed by the locking of the papal desk, supervision of the cutting of telephone lines, locking of the pope's private apartment and sealing off of the doors with red ribbons, before preparation for the funeral to be held within four to six days of the pope's death, and the nine-day period of mourning.
The camerlengo also arranges for the breaking of the papal seal and the pope's ring or ring of the fisherman, items which are all unique to each pope and are buried with him.
In this file photograph taken on September 28, 2014, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (L) is welcomed by Pope Francis as he arrives to attend a papal mass for elderly people on St Peter's Square at The Vatican. PHOTO/AFP
Then, comes the “interregnum” or period between the pope's death and the election of his successor, and the Conclave.
Inside the conclave politics
The Vatican has already confirmed that the funeral of Pope Francis will take place on Saturday, in front of St Peter’s Basilica. The liturgical funeral will be held at 10am according to a short statement from Vatican at St Peter’s square and will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the college of Cardinals.
The late Pope Francis in 2016 appointed Cardinal Kevin Farrell, an Irish-American, the camerlengo, a title given to a person who runs the Vatican after the death or resignation of a pope.
Cardinal Farrell on Easter Monday confirmed the pope’s death following a doctor’s death certificate, which confirmed that the late died following a stroke and irreversible heart failure. He has had a history of episodes of acute respiratory failure.
Cardinal Farrell will be in charge of organising the conclave, a highly secretive meeting that appoints the next Pope. The process of appointing the Pope commences in the next 15 and 20 days after Pope Francis’ death, which could fall between May 5 to 10.
The cardinals are called to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling to elect Pope Francis’s successor. The new Pope is elected by the most senior priests, called Cardinals, who are chosen by the serving Pope.
Cardinals pay their respects by the coffin containing Pope Francis' body, on the day of the translation of his body, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. PHOTO/REUTERS
According to records, there are currently 252 Catholic cardinals from 90 countries, out of which 135 Cardinals qualify to participate in the process of electing the new Pope. Of these, about 110 were chosen by Pope Francis within the last decade.
Only Cardinals who are under the age of 80 are allowed to vote. That day, Cardinals will be made to swear an oath of secrecy to obey the conclave rules during the entire exercise.
The electors are cardinals under 80 years of age, and the election requires a two-thirds majority. The day begins with a celebration of mass, followed by deliberations and voting each day, including in the morning and afternoon, until a candidate attains a two-thirds majority.
There is, however, a day’s break for prayer and reflection after every seven ballots. According to the Vatican, once voting begins, each cardinal writes his choice of a candidate on a piece of paper, they then, one by one, approaches the altar to deliver their ballots.
Three scrutineers open the ballots and read them aloud in every cycle of voting. However, as the scrutineer reads out each name, he pierces each ballot with a needle, binds the ballots with thread and ties a knot.
If no one is elected after 13 days, a run-off is held between the two leading candidates, but a two-thirds plus one majority is still needed.
If a two-thirds majority has been reached, the master of liturgical ceremonies enters the Sistine Chapel. After each round of voting, the ballot cards are burned. Chemicals are added to make the smoke black or white. Black smoke indicates an inconclusive ballot, while the white smoke announces a new pope.
In this file photo, white smoke rises from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that a new pope had been elected at the Vatican on March 13, 2013. White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel and the bells of St Peter's Basilica rang out on Wednesday, signaling that Roman Catholic Cardinals had ended their conclave and elected a pope to succeed Benedict XVI.
With each unsuccessful vote, the cardinals release black smoke through a chimney visible from Saint Peter’s Basilica, while white smoke is released to announce the selection of a new pope.
The process usually takes a few days to complete; however, if 30 rounds of balloting fail to produce a successor, the cardinals may agree to accept a simple majority, half of those present plus one.
Pope John Paul II was elected after eight votes that took two days. Pope Francis was chosen after roughly 24 hours, while the longest papal conclave was held in 1922 when the cardinals took five days to choose their new leader.
Once a pope is elected, the senior cardinal asks the cardinal who has been elected whether he accepts their canonical election as supreme pontiff. In theory, a cardinal can refuse the papacy.
Inside the chapel, the cardinal announces his name as Pope. He then changes into his papal white cassock, and each cardinal approaches him to swear their obedience.
The new pope is then led into the adjacent Room of Tears to be dressed in a white cassock and skull cap, and red slippers. Three sets of vestments in different sizes will have been made by Vatican tailors in advance.
The dean of the cardinals steps onto the main balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to declare: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus papam” – “I announce to you a great joy: We have a pope.”
The retired Archbishop of Gulu Diocese, John Baptist Odama, has, however, warned that the publicity being given to cardinals from Africa as potential successors to Pope Francis might derail their selection.
The media has lately been profiling potential candidates from the continent, including cardinals; Fridolin Ambongo, 65, the Archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Robert Sarah, 79, from Guinea, among others.
Ambongo was in 2019 named a cardinal by Francis and has since been considered one of his possible successors. He is one of nine members of the Council of Cardinals, an advisory group to Francis.
Sarah, on the other hand, is the former head of the Vatican’s liturgy office, and is among the more conservative-leaning prospects. Like Ambongo, Sarah is opposed to blessing same-sex couples, referring to it as “heresy” and same-sex couples as “irregular”.
Asked what chances cardinals from Africa stand to replace Pope Francis, Archbishop Emeritus Odama, said: “Whoever you are thinking of will be disqualified. Once someone is very good and is being published, that person is already out; we shouldn’t talk about them. Leaders like that don’t need to be politically influenced.
If there is political influence, they are already out.”
Bishop Odama says Uganda will play no direct role in the election of a new pope because of ‘human factors’. “Our cardinal is 98 years old, but in reality, the church is being stirred by the Holy Spirit, and the Bible asks us to listen with the heart, not mind.”
The Parish Priest of Kamuli Catholic Diocese, Fr Ben Wakabi, said while he would prefer a Pope from Africa, he is a “willing servant” awaiting the anointed one to lead him.
Fr Emma Olupot, the Parish Priest of Nabiswoigi in Namutumba District, said no Catholic believer can influence the election of a new Pope, and that while the late Pope Francis has gone to meet the Lord, it is not the end of the Catholic Church.
FILE PHOTO: People in Saint Peter's Square shelter from rain as they watch a live television screen showing cardinals entering the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave in order to elect a successor to Pope Benedict, at the Vatican March 12, 2013. Shut off from the outside world, the 115 cardinals will cast their ballots in a chapel which has Michelangelo's soaring Last Judgment on one wall, and his depiction of the hand of God giving life to Adam above them. PHOTO/REUTERS
The Conclave will now likely have to decide whether to elect a pope who continues Pope Francis’ more open and progressive approach, or to follow opposing forces within the Church pushing for a more conservative direction.
