“There are 118 beautiful cardinals standing before me, but only 117 candles in my hand,” the head of the Vatican says seriously, looking out at the young (all under the age of 80!) nervous cardinals standing before him.
That’s not really how the pope is elected, but wouldn’t it make for great reality television? In actuality, the process of electing the new pope is relatively simple.
As you’ve probably already heard, Pope Benedict XVI has decided to retire. He’s the first pope to do so in 600 years, and now it’s time to pick a new pope. The process of it is called a papal conclave. This meeting of the College of Cardinals will be called within 20 days of his resignation.
There are a few major things you need to know to understand how the pope’s resignation will work. First, understand that the papal conclave is where the wise cardinals vote for the new pope. This process happens in the Sistine Chapel, and they can’t leave the Vatican city-state until the decision is made. Cardinals have two votes each day and can vote for any cardinal. They slowly narrow down their options each day. They cannot have any contact with the outside world. They’re not allowed to watch television, listen to the radio or have their cell phones with them. There cannot be any connection to the outside world that might sway their decisions.
The ballots are burned in a stove after every second vote. The smoke from the stove comes out of a special chimney erected on top of the chapel. While black smoke means that no decision has been made, white smoke signals that cardinals have chosen a new pope, hopefully in the same fashion as Tyra Banks chooses her next star.
Once choosen, the senior deacon then steps out onto the balcony of the Vatican and shouts in Latin, “Habemus Papam,” or, “We have a pope!” The new pope chooses the name by which he wants to be called, pulls on his new robes and steps on to the balcony himself. At this time, he gives his first blessing.
So, really, the process of choosing a new pope is pretty easy for all of us to understand. It’s also really important and will make you sound impressive and intelligent in front of your friends. It’s maybe not as simple as a modeling contest, but we can only hope that they’ll consider having a pose-off before electing the next pope.