AFrom the death of a pope, a papal conclave – an incredibly secret and important process – takes place in the Vatican while the cardinals will determine who will then direct the Catholic church.
After the death of Pope Francis on April 21, the preparations for the conclave began to take shape, while the cardinals around the world went to Rome.
On Wednesday, May 7, the first day of the conclave, 133 cardinals met in the Sistine Chapel to vote. They failed to make a decision, as pointed out in the black smoke that emerged from the chapel chimney in the evening. A candidate must receive at least two thirds of the vote to become the next pope, and a successful vote will see white smoke leave the Sistine Chapel.
The second day of a conclave, four voting cycles will take place, etc., until a new chief of the Catholic church is elected. In theory, this process could last indefinitely, but this was not the case this time, because the evening of Thursday, May 8, white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel, informing the public that a new Pope had been decided. The cardinal selected to succeed Pope Francis will be announced in due time.
Learn more:: 10 surprising facts on papal conclaves
While the recent elections are finished in a few days, the conclaves are previously known to last years. The last conclave to last more than a week took place in 1831, when Pope Grégoire XVI was elected after 51 days of voting.
Here is a break in the way in which the duration of the conclaves has changed in recent years.
The longest conclave in history – and how it has become
The death of Pope Clément VI in 1268 led to a crisis for the Catholic Church. 17 Cardinals were part of the conclave gathered to choose its successor, but the group was divided between two factions known as Guelphs and Ghibellenes.
This division, as well as personal and political motivations among the cardinals, led to a dead end, and the conclave finally lasted 1,006 days. It took the closing of the doors of the city of Viterbo, where the conclave was held, and the complete isolation of the outside world before a decision could be made.
This three -year conclave led the new Pope, Gregory X, to declare in 1274 that the future conclaves must be kept behind closed doors, without contact between the cardinals and the exterior.
Gregory X said that cardinals should be locked in isolation “Cum Clave” – for “with a key”. The term has since transformed into “conclave”, giving this electoral process its modern name.
In the years that followed, the conclaves were known to last a few days to a few months.
It was the same deadline in 2005, because Pope Benedict XVI was chosen by the cardinals after two days.
In 1978, there were remarkably two conclaves. In October, Pope John Paul II was elected after eight three-day voting cycles. A few months earlier, in August, Jean-Paul, I was elected in two days. Jean-Paul, I died of a heart attack only 33 days after the start of his Pope’s mandate. His death was surrounded by conspiracy, given the sudden nature and the moment of his death.
Fifteen years earlier, in June 1963, Pope Paul VI was chosen as next pontiff after three days of voting.
