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After the Pope passed away or resigned, but before the election of the new Pope, it was called Sede Vicante in the Vatican for a time.
The Sede vacancy doesn’t last long and doesn’t happen often, but when it happens, it’s a very busy time.
This period has its own badge and a series of activities that must occur. There are also firm rules about what won’t happen and what can’t be done.
Learn more about Sede Vacancy and the choice of the new Pope in this episode of All Things Everyday.
Going back to the first time I started this podcast, I did an episode about how to choose a pope.
Honestly, these early plots aren’t my best, and because of Pope Francis’ recent death, I feel it’s time to revisit the topic.
The goal I hope to achieve in this episode is to explain the events that will happen in Rome in the next two or three weeks.
If you are not a Catholic, or even if you are not a Christian, I think you can still find events that will happen interesting, or at least recognize their importance.
The truth is, this doesn’t happen often. This is only the fifth time in my life, two of which were between each other in 1978.
In addition to being a religious role as a bishop of Rome, the pope is also the leader of the small Vatican city states. The Pope is the monarch in this role.
However, since the Pope is celibate, this is not a genetic monarchy.
When the monarch died in a hereditary monarchy, the throne was passed to their successors.
When the Pope passed away, the Pope ended, but had no direct successor. In Latin, the gap between one pope and another is called the Seed Vacancy. This just means Seats are vacant.
After the Pope’s death or resignation, a series of pre-planned events will unfold, eventually reaching the election of the new Pope.
The first priority of the business is to announce the death of the pope. Centuries ago, there were traditions that they would hit the pope’s forehead with a small silver hammer and whisper his last name.
Today, it only involves the doctor’s statement.
One of the traditional practices that are still being observed is to destroy the fisherman’s ring.
Each pope has a symbolic ring and they wear some designs that symbolize their position.
After death, the ring is immediately defiled or destroyed in some way. Usually smashed with a hammer. But when Pope Benedict resigned, they stuffed the cross into its face.
This is actually a very practical purpose, although it is not as important as before.
Signed rings are used to seal important documents in wax. The damage to the ring is to make sure no one uses the ring to seal the documents, so they can later claim that the Pope approves of something he doesn’t have.
After the ring was destroyed and the Pope’s body was removed, the Pope’s apartment was sealed.
The person who destroyed the ring before the witness is called the photographer of the Holy Roman Church.
Camerlengo is usually responsible for running daily interim transactions in the Vatican. Although the position was always held by the Cardinal, it was purely an administrative role.
However, after the Pope’s death, photographers became the most important person in the Vatican.
In theory, the entire Cardinal College is responsible for the administration of the church during a Sede vacancy period, but Carmerlengo is the one who actually did the job while he lived and worked in the Vatican, with most Cardinals flying from all over the world and not aware of daily issues.
When the Pope passed away, all members of Roman Curia (the administration of the Holy See) automatically evacuated their posts.
During this period, Carmerlengo’s two main tasks were to oversee the pope’s funeral and organize conference contests to elect the next pope. He also has to keep everything going in the Vatican.
Neither he nor any other cardinal makes any major decision, usually the power of the pope, or do anything that can restrain the future pope.
The Vatican then declared the death of the pope through various official channels, including Vatican Radio and Vatican websites.
By the way, I woke up on Monday morning first to learn about Pope Francis’ death. I heard about opening emails on my laptop while I was still in bed. TV stations from Philadelphia want me to air, talking about the process of choosing a new pope.
Since I’ve written about this topic in the past, the first thing I’m going to do is visit the Vatican website and for sure, there’s the Sede Facante badge on the homepage. So my guess is that, like the main newspapers have prosecutors of famous people, they are ready to use this page just in case.
A formal period of mourning began, lasting 9 days known as Novendiales. The climax of it was the funeral of the pope.
During this time the Pope will be in a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc.
The cardinal, head of state and other VIPs will fly to Rome for funerals, which are also the state’s funeral. The funeral was held in words called Ordo exseciarum Romani Pontificis. This was last updated by Pope Francis in 2024 and can be changed by each pope.
Most modern popes were buried in the Vatican grottoes, but Pope Francis asked to be buried in the nearby Basilica of St. Mary.
Once the funeral is over, but less than 15 days, and within 20 days of the Pope’s evacuation, the meeting will begin the election of the Pope.
The word cendave comes from the Latin word “con clava”, which means using a key.
Historically, the conclusion was developed to deal with political intervention and prolonged vacancy. In the 13th century, especially during the three years after the death of Pope Clement IV, pressure was applied to a more efficient and secluded approach to electing the Pope.
At that time, various European monarchs tried to put pressure on their candidates to be elected as Pope.
In 1274, Pope Gregory X formally established a meeting at the Second Council of Lyon, demanding that the Cardinal be locked before a decision was made.
Over the centuries, additional rules have been added to ensure confidentiality, regulate procedures and minimize external impacts. The conclusion has evolved into a profoundly symbolic and ritual event that balances ancient traditions with the administrative needs of the modern church.
The Cardinals are the group responsible for choosing the Pope. This is ultimately their entire feature. Their titles and the Red Blessings are honors that reflect this position. The Cardinal itself has no special religious functions.
Today, all cardinals are bishops, usually dioceses in major cities in the world. Traditionally, the Cardinal was the leading bishop, priest, deacon, and even layman in Rome.
For centuries, every pope was in Italian. Such a pragmatic reason. After the Pope’s death, the news spread slowly. The only cardinal who could go to Rome to attend the meeting in time were other Italians, who voted for other Italians.
The last three popes were non-Italians, and it is no surprise that in the age of jet travel, they were all elected, and cardinals from all over the world might attend.
Cardinal College has limited membership. Currently, there are 252 cardinals, of which 135 are eligible to vote. To qualify, you must be at least 80 years of age.
Most of these men don’t know each other well. They may know each other because of their reputation, but they may only know a few other cardinals living in the same country or region.
When the meeting begins, everyone (except a few personal assistants, needs to leave. Traditionally, the Cardinal remains in temporary cells and sleeps in the crib inside the Sistine Church.
Today, the Cardinal lives in the hotel St. Martha’s House, built in the Vatican city in the 1990s, dedicated to the Cardinal who was stationed during the meeting. It has also served as the home of Pope Francis since 2013.
These facilities are described as comfortable but not luxurious.
During the meeting, all phones are off, all WiFi and battery signals are blocked, and TV or radio cannot be accessed.
The Cardinals will have dinner together and talk to each other during this period to figure out who votes.
Actual voting is held every day at Sistine Church. On the first day of the vote, all cardinals swore to keep it secret.
From there, they usually vote four times a day. Two tickets in the morning and two tickets in the afternoon.
The current rules require a two-thirds majority to be elected as a pope.
In the past, the rules were not very strict. It only takes a simple majority, or may be welcomed, which is vague. However, over time, the rules become clearer to eliminate the possibility of vulnerabilities.
Each cardinal wrote down the candidate’s name on the note, and then one walked up to one and placed it in the Holy Grail.
After each vote, the ballots are read aloud and connected with a rope and a needle. The ballots were then burned in the stove inside the Sistine Church.
Chemicals are burned by the ballot to produce white or black smoke. If no one is elected, the smoke is black. If there is a pope, the smoke is white.
This tradition is recent. The burning vote began in the 19th century and it was not until 1914 that the smoke showed the result. In some conclusions, the color of the smoke is gray, so they now add chemicals to make the color more clear.
If the election is held, Bell will now also be in St. Peter’s Basilica.
If the candidate receives two-thirds of the vote, the dean of the Cardinal College will ask whether the candidate accepts the election results…. This of course assumes that the candidate is a cardinal and is in the room.
In theory, any Catholic male can elect a pope even without a priest or bishop. However, this has been more than 500 years, and that is Leo X, a member of the Leo family.
Assuming this unlikely event occurs, the meeting will be put on hold until the candidates can be called to Rome and they will ask if they will accept it. If they are not pastors or bishops, they need to be appointed and dedicated.
When the candidates say they accept it, they become bishops of Rome and the Pope…. Assuming they are already bishops, they will almost certainly.
Candidates can refuse elections. It’s not clear whether this has happened, but assume that if someone can get there, they already know they’ll refuse.
Once they accept, they are asked for their name. Assuming candidates are always getting votes, this may be what they think of.
The new pope was then taken to a small room in the Sistine Church called the Tears Room. It is called because many places where the new popes break down and cry.
Here he wore one of a variety of papal costumes in many sizes prepared in advance.
By this time, with the white smoke and the bells, a large group of people would gather in St. Peter’s Square.
The new pope, the original pope of the Cardinal College, and some other senior cardinals will head to the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
There, ProtoDeacon will appear first and say the following in Latin:
Annuntio Vobis Gaudium Magnum;
Habemus Papam!
Translation means,
I announce to you very much.
We have a pope:
The new pope will then speak to the crowd and give blessings.
This process is certainly involved, and despite tradition, each meeting has at least a slightly different effect from the changes made by the previous Pope, at least slightly different from the previous conclusions.
So in the next few weeks, if you are watching the news, it is about the events that are going to unfold, some of them will be very public, and some of them will happen behind closed doors.
