When the conclave to select the Pope begins on Monday, 115 cardinals out of an eligible 117 will walk from their temporary residence within the Vatican in the Santa Marta building to the splendour of the Sistine Chapel. The fact that the late Holy Father selected practically all of them is not the only reason he will have a hand in the selection of his successor. On February 22, 1996, John Paul II published an Apostolic Constitution that governs how the next leader of the universal Church should be chosen. It talks about the importance of secrecy, the threat of excommunication for any cardinal who bargains for votes, and the need for prayer if a decision proves difficult to reach. Steve Mallia highlights its salient points.

The right to elect the Roman Pontiff belongs exclusively to the cardinals, with the exception of those who have reached their 80th birthday before the day of the Pope's death or the day when the Apostolic See becomes vacant. The maximum number of cardinal electors must not exceed 120.

The place of the election and those admitted to it by reason of their office

The cardinal electors, from the beginning of the election until its conclusion and the public announcement of its outcome, are not to communicate - whether by writing, by telephone or by any other means of communication - with persons outside the area where the election is taking place, except in cases of proven and urgent necessity.

The beginning of the election

The cardinal electors, in choir dress, and invoking the assistance of the Holy Spirit with the chant of the Veni Creator, will solemnly proceed to the Sistine Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, where the election will be held.

The Sistine Chapel is therefore to remain an absolutely enclosed area until the conclusion of the election, so that total secrecy may be ensured with regard to everything said or done there in any way pertaining, directly or indirectly, to the election of the Supreme Pontiff.

In a special way, careful and stringent checks must be made, with the help of trustworthy individuals of proven technical ability, in order to ensure that no audiovisual equipment has been secretly installed in these areas for recording and transmission to the outside. If, in the judgment of the majority of the electors, there is nothing to prevent the election process from beginning, it shall start immediately.

Observance of secrecy on all matters concerning the election

For the whole duration of the election, the cardinal electors are forbidden to reveal to any other person, directly or indirectly, information about the voting and about matters discussed or decided concerning the election of the Pope in the meetings of cardinals, both before and during the time of the election.

I further order the cardinal electors, graviter onerata ipsorum conscientia, to maintain secrecy concerning these matters also after the election of the new Pope has taken place.

The election procedure

For the valid election of the Roman Pontiff, two thirds of the votes are required, calculated on the basis of the total number of electors present.

Should it be impossible to divide the number of cardinals present into three equal parts, for the validity of the election of the Supreme Pontiff one additional vote is required.

Should the election begin on the afternoon of the first day, only one ballot is to be held; then, on the following days, if no one was elected on the first ballot, two ballots shall be held in the morning and two in the afternoon.

The first phase

1) The ballot paper must be rectangular in shape and must bear in the upper half, in print if possible, the words Eligo in Summum Pontificem; on the lower half there must be a space left for writing the name of the person chosen; thus the ballot is made in such a way that it can be folded in two;

2) The completion of the ballot must be done in secret by each cardinal elector, who will write down legibly, as far as possible in handwriting that cannot be identified as his, the name of the person he chooses, taking care not to write other names as well, since this would make the ballot null; he will then fold the ballot twice;

3) During the voting, the cardinal electors are to remain alone in the Sistine Chapel.

The second phase

1) The placing of the ballots in the appropriate receptacle; 2) the mixing and counting of the ballots; 3) the opening of the votes. Each cardinal elector, in order of precedence, having completed and folded his ballot, holds it up so that it can be seen and carries it to the altar... He then places the ballot on the plate, with which he drops it into the receptacle. Having done this, he bows to the altar and returns to his place.

After all the ballots of the cardinal electors have been placed in the receptacle, the first Scrutineer shakes it several times in order to mix them, and immediately afterwards the last Scrutineer proceeds to count them, picking them out of the urn in full view and placing them in another empty receptacle previously prepared for this purpose.

The Scrutineers sit at a table placed in front of the altar. The first of them takes a ballot, unfolds it, notes the name of the person chosen and passes the ballot to the second Scrutineer, who in his turn notes the name of the person chosen and passes the ballot to the third, who reads it out in a loud and clear voice, so that all the electors present can record the vote on a sheet of paper prepared for that purpose. He himself writes down the name read from the ballot.

When all the ballots have been opened, the Scrutineers add up the sum of the votes obtained by the different names and write them down on a separate sheet of paper. The last Scrutineer, as he reads out the individual ballots, pierces each one with a needle through the word Eligo and places it on a thread, so that the ballots can be more securely preserved. After the names have been read out, the ends of the thread are tied in a knot, and the ballots thus joined together are placed in a receptacle or on one side of the table.

Third and last phase

The Scrutineers add up all the votes that each individual has received, and if no one has obtained two thirds of the votes on that ballot, the Pope has not been elected; if however, it turns out that someone has obtained two thirds of the votes, the canonically valid election of the Roman Pontiff has taken place.

Immediately after the checking has taken place, and before the cardinal electors leave the Sistine Chapel, all the ballots are to be burnt by the Scrutineers.

In order that secrecy may be better observed, I order each and every cardinal elector to hand over any notes which he may have in his possession concerning the results of each ballot. These notes are to be burnt together with the ballots.

I further lay down that at the end of the election, the cardinal camerlengo of Holy Roman Church shall draw up a document declaring the result of the voting at each session. This document is to be given to the Pope and will thereafter be kept in a designated archive, enclosed in a sealed envelope.

After a ballot which does not result in an election, the cardinal electors shall proceed immediately to a second one, in which they are to express their vote anew. In this second ballot all the formalities of the previous one are to be observed.

In the event that the cardinal electors find it difficult to agree on the person to be elected, after balloting has been carried out for three days without result, voting is to be suspended for a maximum of one day in order to allow a pause for prayer, informal discussion among the voters, and a brief spiritual exhortation given by the senior cardinal in the Order of Deacons.

Voting is then resumed in the usual manner, and after seven ballots, if the election has not taken place, there is another pause. Another series of seven ballots is then held and, if there has still been no election, this is followed by a further pause. Voting is then resumed in the usual manner and, unless the election occurs, it is to continue for seven ballots.

If the balloting does not result in an election, the cardinal electors shall be invited by the camerlengo to express an opinion about the manner of proceeding. The election will then proceed in accordance with what the absolute majority of the electors decides.

Matters to be observed or avoided in the election of the Roman Pontiff

I forbid anyone, even if he is a cardinal, during the Pope's lifetime and without having consulted him, to make plans concerning the election of his successor, or to promise votes, or to make decisions in this regard in private gatherings.

I intend this prohibition to include all possible forms of interference, opposition and suggestion whereby secular authorities of whatever order and degree, or any individual or group, might attempt to exercise influence on the election of the Pope.

The cardinal electors shall further abstain from any form of pact, agreement, promise or other commitment of any kind which could oblige them to give or deny their vote to a person or persons; and I hereby impose the penalty of excommunication latae sententiae upon those who violate this prohibition. It is not my intention, however, to forbid, during the period in which the See is vacant, the exchange of views concerning the election.

I earnestly exhort the cardinal electors not to allow themselves to be guided, in choosing the Pope, by friendship or aversion, or to be influenced by favour or personal relationships towards anyone, or to be constrained by the interference of persons in authority or by pressure groups, by the suggestions of the mass media, or by force, fear or the pursuit of popularity.

I also ask the one who is elected not to refuse, for fear of its weight, the office to which he has been called, but to submit humbly to the design of the divine will.

The acceptance and proclamation of the new Pope and the beginning of his ministry

When the election has canonically taken place, the junior cardinal deacon summons into the hall of election the Secretary of the College of Cardinals and the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations. The cardinal dean, or the cardinal who is first in order and seniority, in the name of the whole college of electors, then asks the consent of the one elected in the following words: Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff? And, as soon as he has received the consent, he asks him: By what name do you wish to be called?

After his acceptance, the person elected, if he has already received episcopal ordination, is immediately Bishop of the Church of Rome, true Pope and Head of the College of Bishops. He thus acquires and can exercise full and supreme power over the universal Church.

When the other formalities provided for in the Ordo Rituum Conclavis have been carried out, the cardinal electors approach the newly-elected Pope in the prescribed manner, in order to make an act of homage and obedience. An act of thanksgiving to God is then made, after which the senior cardinal Deacon announces to the waiting people that the election has taken place and proclaims the name of the new Pope, who immediately thereafter imparts the Apostolic Blessing Urbi et Orbi from the balcony of the Vatican Basilica.

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