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Podcast Transcript
After the death or resignation of a pope, but before the election of a new pope, there is a period of time at the Vatican known as Sede Vacante.
The Sede Vacante doesn’t last very long, and it doesn’t happen very often, but when it does occur, it is a very busy time.
This period has its own coat of arms and highly regimented series of events that have to take place. There are also firm rules about what can’t happen and what can’t be done.
Learn more about the Sede Vacante and the selection of a new pope on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Way, way back when I first launched this podcast, I did an episode about how popes are selected.
To be honest, those very early episodes were not really my best, and with the recent death of Pope Francis, I felt it was a time to revisit the subject.
What I hope to achieve in this episode is to explain the events that are going to take place over the next two or three weeks in Rome.
If you aren’t Catholic, or even if you aren’t Christian, I think you can still find the events that will be taking place interesting, or at least recognize their importance.
The fact is, this doesn’t happen very often. This is only the fifth time in my life that this has taken place, and two of those were within a month of each other in 1978.
The pope, in addition to his religious role as the Bishop of Rome, is also the leader of the tiny state of Vatican City. The pope, in that role, is a monarch.
However, it is not a hereditary monarchy as the pope is celibate.
When a monarch dies in a hereditary monarchy, at the moment of death, the throne passes to their successor.
When the pope dies, the papacy ends, but there isn’t an immediate successor. That gap between one papacy and another is known in Latin as Sede Vacante. It simply means the seat is vacant.
Once a pope dies or resigns, a pre-planned series of events unfolds, culminating in the election of a new pope.
The first priority of business is the declaration of the death of the pope. Centuries ago, there were traditions where they would tap the forehead of the pope with a small silver hammer and whisper his birth name into his ear.
Today, it simply involves the declaration of a doctor.
One of the traditional practices that is still observed is the destruction of the Fisherman’s Ring.
Each pope has a signet ring that they wear that bears some design that is emblematic of their position.
Upon death, the ring is immediately defaced or destroyed in some way. It is usually smashed with a hammer. However, when Pope Benedict resigned, they chiseled a cross into its face instead.
This actually serves a very practical purpose, although it is less important than it used to be.
The signed ring was used to seal important documents in wax. The destruction of the ring is to ensure that no one uses the ring to seal a document, so they could later claim the pope endorsed something that he didn’t.
After the ring is destroyed and the pope’s body has been removed, the papal apartments are sealed.
The person who destroys the ring in the presence of witnesses is called the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.
The Camerlengo is normally responsible for running the day-to-day temporal affairs of the Vatican. While the position is always held by a Cardinal, it is a purely administrative role.
After the death of a pope, however, the Camerlengo becomes the most important person in the Vatican.
In theory, the entire College of Cardinals is responsible for the administration of the church during a Sede Vacante period, however, the Carmerlengo is the one who actually does the work as he lives and works in the Vatican and most of the Cardinals are flying in from around the world and aren’t aware of day to day matters.
When a pope dies, all the members of the Roman Curia, the administrative body of the Holy See, have their positions vacated automatically.
Carmerlengo’s two major jobs during this period are to oversee the funeral of the pope and to organize the conclave to elect the next pope. He also has to keep everything functioning at the Vatican.
Neither he nor any of the other Cardinals may make any major decisions that would normally be the power of the pope, or do anything that would bind a future pope.
The Vatican then announces the death of the pope through various official channels, including Vatican Radio and the Vatican Website.
Just as an aside, I first learned of the death of Pope Francis when I woke up on Monday morning. I heard about it when I opened an email on my laptop while I was still in bed. A television station from Philadelphia wanted me to come on the air to talk about the process of selecting a new pope.
Because I’ve written about this subject in the past, the first thing I did was go to the Vatican website, and sure enough, the front page had the Sede Vacante coat of arms. So, my guess is that, just like major newspapers have obituaries of famous people pre-written, they had this webpage ready to go just in case.
There begins an official period of mourning which lasts nine days, known as the Novendiales. The culmination of which is the funeral mass of the Pope.
During this period, the pope will lie in state in a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc.
Cardinals, heads of state, and other dignitaries will fly into Rome for the funeral, which is also a state funeral. The funeral is run by a text known as the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis. This was last updated in 2024 by Pope Francis, and every pope may make changes.
Most modern popes are buried in the Vatican grotto, but Pope Francis requested to be buried in the nearby Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
Once the funeral is over, but no sooner than 15 days and no later than 20 days after the papacy was vacated, the conclave will begin to elect the pope.
The word conclave comes from the Latin “con clava,” which means with a key.
Historically, the conclave developed in response to political interference and prolonged vacancies. During the 13th century, particularly after a three-year interregnum following the death of Pope Clement IV, pressure mounted for a more efficient and secluded method of electing popes.
At the time, the various European monarchs attempted to exert pressure to have their candidate selected as pope.
In 1274, Pope Gregory X formally established the conclave at the Second Council of Lyon, mandating the cardinals be locked in until a decision was made.
Over the centuries, additional rules were added to ensure secrecy, regulate procedures, and minimize external influence. The conclave has evolved into a deeply symbolic and ritualized event, balancing ancient tradition with the administrative needs of the modern Church.
Cardinals are the group responsible for selecting the pope. This is ultimately their entire function. Their title and red regalia are just honorifics to reflect this position. A cardinal has no special religious function per se.
Today, all cardinals are bishops, usually of a diocese in major cities around the world. Traditionally, cardinals were leading bishops, priests, deacons, and even laymen in Rome.
For centuries, every pope was Italian. There is a pragmatic reason for this. After the death of a pope, news traveled slowly. The only cardinals who were able to get to Rome in time for the conclave were other Italians, who voted for other Italians.
The last three popes have been non-Italians, and it should come as no surprise that they were all elected during an era of jet travel, where cardinals from all over the world could attend.
The College of Cardinals is limited in membership. Currently, there are 252 cardinals, of whom 135 are eligible to vote. To be eligible, you have to be under the age of 80.
Most of these men do not know each other very well. They may know of each other by reputation, but they probably only personally know a small number of other Cardinals who live in the same country or region.
When the conclave starts, everyone, save for a few personal assistants, is required to leave. Traditionally, the cardinals would stay in makeshift cells and sleep on cots inside the Sistine Chapel.
Today, the cardinals stay in St. Martha’s House, a guest house built in Vatican City in the 1990s specifically to house cardinals during the conclave. It also served as the home of Pope Francis since 2013.
The facilities have been described as comfortable, but not luxurious.
During the conclave, all telephones are turned off, all wifi and cell signals are blocked, and there is no access to television or radio.
The cardinals will eat together and talk to each other during this time to try to figure out who to vote for.
The actual voting takes place every day in the Sistine Chapel. On the first day of voting, all the cardinals take an oath of secrecy.
From there, they will usually vote four times a day. Two votes in the morning and two in the afternoon.
The current rules require a two-thirds majority for someone to be elected pope.
Previously, the rules were less stringent. It only required a simple majority, or there was a possibility of acclamation, which was very vague. However, the rules have become more explicit over time to eliminate the possibility of loopholes.
Each cardinal writes down the name of their candidate on a slip of paper and walks up one by one to put it in a chalice.
After each vote, the ballots are read out loud and then connected with a string and needle. The ballots are then burned in a stove inside the Sistine Chapel.
Chemicals are burned with the ballots to create either a white or black smoke. If no one has been elected, the smoke is black. If there is a pope, the smoke is white.
This tradition is rather recent. Burning ballots began in the 19th century, and it was not until 1914 that the smoke color indicated the results. There was confusion during some conclaves as to the color of the smoke, as it was greyish, so they now add chemicals to make the color more explicit.
In the event of an election, bells will also now chime in St. Peter’s Basilica.
If a candidate has gotten two-thirds of the vote, the Dean of the College of Cardinals will then ask the candidate if they accept the results of the election….this is assuming, of course, that the candidate is a cardinal and is in the room.
In theory, any catholic male can be elected pope even if they aren’t a priest or a bishop. This, however, has not happened in over 500 years, and that was Leo X, who was a member of the Medici Family.
Assuming this unlikely event happened, the conclave would be put on hold until the candidate could be summoned to Rome and asked if they would accept. If they are not a priest or bishop, they would need to be ordained and consecrated.
The moment a candidate says they accept, they become the bishop of Rome and the Pope….assuming they are already a bishop, which they almost certainly will be.
A candidate may refuse the election. It is unknown if this has ever happened, but it is assumed that if anyone ever got to this point, they would have already let it be known that they would refuse.
Once they accept, they are then asked by what name they will go by. Assuming a candidate has been getting votes, this is something that they have probably given some thought.
The new pope is then taken to a small room in the Sistine Chapel called the Room of Tears. It is called that because this is where many new popes break down and cry.
Here he is dressed in one of several papal garments of various sizes that were prepared beforehand.
By this time, with the white smoke and the bells, a large crowd would have gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
The new pope, the protodeacon of the College of Cardinals, and some other senior cardinals will head to the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
There, the protodeacon will appear first and say the following in Latin:
Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum;
habemus Papam!
Translated, it means,
I announce to you a great joy;
We have a Pope:
The new pope will then address the crowd and give a blessing.
The process is certainly involved and, despite the traditions, every conclave is at least a little bit different than the one before it due to changes made by the previous pope.
So, over the next few weeks, if you are watching the news, these are approximately the events that will be unfolding, some of which will be very public and some of which will take place behind closed doors.