How to pick a pope: Scenes from Pope Benedict’s election
Sometime in March – Vatican rules seem to indicate March 15 – an estimated 115 Catholic cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel to deliberate and elect the next head of the Roman Catholic Church. The proceedings of this papal conclave will be kept secret while crowds gather outside awaiting the announcement of the 266th pontiff. To get a better idea of the proceedings, take a look at these photos from the election of Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
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- Cardinals arrive on April 11, 2005 at the Vatican for the General Congregation assembly of the Cardinals. Cardinals then started their conclave in the frescoed Sistine Chapel on April 18, planning to vote twice a day thereafter until one candidate reached a majority of two thirds plus one. (Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Vatican workers place the chimney pot on the roof of the Sistine Chapel three days before the conclave that started on 18 April 2005. Technicians worked on the roofs of the Vatican and inside the Sistine Chapel to protect the secrecy of the first papal conclave of the digital age, while preserving historical aspects of the vote. Their deadline was April 18, when 115 cardinal electors under the age of 80 gathered in the Sistine Chapel to begin voting for the next pope. (Patrick Hertzog/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on April 18, 2005, before the start of the conclave. Shut away from the eyes of the world, Roman Catholic cardinals opened a days-long conclave of ancient tradition and utmost secrecy to elect one of their number as their 265th pope. Arturo Mari/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Cardinals gather before the start of the conclave at the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on April 18, 2005. Shut away from the eyes of the world, Roman Catholic cardinals opened a days-long conclave of ancient tradition and utmost secrecy to elect one of their number as their 265th pope. (Arturo Mari/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Cardinals gather before the start of the conclave at the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on April 18, 2005. Shut away from the eyes of the world, Roman Catholic cardinals opened a days-long conclave of ancient tradition and utmost secrecy to elect one of their number as their 265th pope. (Arturo Mari/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Italian Cardinal Giacomo Biffi takes an oath in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on April 18, 2005 before the start of the conclave. Shut away from the eyes of the world, Roman Catholic cardinals opened a days-long conclave of ancient tradition and utmost secrecy to elect one of their number as their 265th pope. (Arturo Mari/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Archbishop Piero Marini closes the doors of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on April 18, 2005, before the start of the conclave. (Arturo Mari/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Black smoke rises from the roof of the Sistine Chapel meaning that cardinals failed to elect a new pope in the first ballot of their secret conclave April 18, 2005. at the Vatican City. More than 10,000 people watching from Saint Peter’s Square initially broke into ecstatic applause, thinking the election had been successful because the first puffs of smoke appeared white, before the narrow chimney atop the chapel began billowing black fumes. (Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A woman hold a rosary as black smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel meaning that cardinals failed to elect a new pope in the first ballot of their secret conclave 18 April 2005 at the Vatican City. (Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images)
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- On top, people celebrate thinking that smoke from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel is white. On the bottom, people react to the smoke turning black as it rose from the chimney, indicating that the cardinals failed to elect a new pope in the first ballot of their secret conclave on April 18, 2005 at the Vatican City. More than 10,000 people watching from Saint Peter’s Square initially broke into ecstatic applause, thinking the election had been successful because the first puffs of smoke appeared white, before the narrow chimney atop the chapel began billowing black fumes. (Giulio Napolitano/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Cardinals look out a window in the Vatican April 19, 2005 in Vatican City. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
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- Nuns pray as black smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on April 19, 2005, meaning that Catholic Church cardinals were still deadlocked on a choice of successor to Pope John Paul II after two rounds of voting. (Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Crowds gather in St Peter’s square on April 19, 2005 in Vatican City, awaiting the election of the 265th pope. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
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- A nun points to a chimney above the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, as white smoke rises, indicating a new pope has been elected: German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI. (Kimimasa Mayama/Reuters)
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- White smoke rises from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican on April 19, 2005, indicating the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI. (Jerry Lampen/Reuters)
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- People wave the German flag as Germany’s Joseph Ratzinger, the new Pope Benedict XVI, appears at the window of St Peter’s Basilica’s main balcony after being elected the 265th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. (Giulio Napolitano/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A woman holds rosary beads as ringing bells announce the election of Pope Benedict XVI on April 19, 2005 in Vatican City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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- Seminary students cheer as Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, speaks from a balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican after being elected by the conclave of cardinals April 19, 2005 in Vatican City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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- This photo shows 12 Catholic cardinals likely to succeed to Pope Benedict XVI as the next pope. Top row from left: Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, Honduran Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodrigues Maradiaga, Argentine Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Mexican Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, Brazilian Joao Braz de Aviz, and Philippines’ Luis Antonio Tagle. Bottom row from left : Austrian Cristoph Schonborn, Hungarian Peter Erdoe, Italian Angelo Scola, Canadian Marc Ouellet, Nigerian Francis Arinze, and Nigerian John Onaiyekan (AFP/Getty Images)
While papal conclaves are held behind closed doors and generally kept under wraps, some consensus has emerged around the procedures followed to fill a vacant papacy. The first vote is generally held on the afternoon of the first day. If no cardinal receives a two-thirds majority of votes, four ballots are held on each subsequent day. Should the electors be unable to select a vote after three days, the process is suspended for up to one day of prayer, then begins again.
The crowds gathered outside in St. Peter’s Square, meanwhile, look expectantly at the chimney placed atop the Sistine Chapel. If no pope is elected after voting, the ballots are burned with materials or chemicals added to create dark smoke. Once a pope has been chosen, white smoke rises from the chimney and bells begin ringing to signal the election of the church’s next leader.
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