This week, 133 Catholic cardinal voters Choose a new Pope In a secret, centuries ritual called conclave. On Wednesday, the voters, among the senior church officials, will be locked inside the Vatican Sistine Chapel to celebrate as many voting rounds as necessary to select the next pontiff.
This is what you need to know about the process and how long could it take.
When does the 2025 papal conclave begin?
He conclave Start on Wednesday, May 7, 16 days later Death of Pope Francis.
It is one of the oldest methods to choose a head of state that is still used today, and its basic protocols have barely changed for 800 years.
To become a potato, a candidate only needs to be a Catholic and masculine. However, for centuries, potatoes have only chosen among Catholic cardinals, senior church officials.
The conclave takes place in the Sistine Chapel, behind the sealed doors. Together with all the Vatican staff involved in the process, cardinal voters practice a secret oath, and the chapel is swept by listening devices.
The 133 voters who participate this time can celebrate a voting round in the afternoon of the first day of the conclave, consisting of two tickets. To be elected Pope, a candidate must obtain two thirds of the votes plus one. If the first round is not conclusive, the vote continues on a second day.
From the second day Ontard, there are two rounds of voting every day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
If there are not two thirds of the majority after three days of voting, the process stops for a day to give time for the cardinals to pray and discuss their options.
How long have the conclusion tasks to choose new potatoes in the past?
There is no established time limit for how long a conclave can take. Cardinal voters continue to vote until a two more thirds are achieved.
The shortest recorded conclave was in 1503, when the cardinals only took 10 hours to choose Pius III as the new pontiff.
The longest record in tok record for almost three years.
The choice of a successor of Pope Clemente IV in 1268 lasted for so long, about 1000 days, that the locals in the city of Viterbo, where it was held, locked the cardinals in the room where they had met until they reached a decision.
That is where the name still used for the selection process of a new Pope: “Conconico”, which translates into “low block and key,” comes.
After that marathon conclave, Pope Gregory X was finally chosen in September or 1271.
How long is the Papal Conclave 2025 expected to last?
There is no way to predict how long a conclave will take, but the guidance may be tasks of recent history.
The last three popes have been chosen in two or three days.
In 2013, Pope Francis was chosen after five ballot heroes for two days. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI was chosen after four tickets. In 1978, Pope John Paul II was chosen about two days after eight tickets.
Why does the papal conclave use white smoke?
After each voting round, paper tickets are burned. If a Pope has not chosen his leg, Black smoke rises Of the chimney on the chapel. If a Pope has the chosen leg, the white smoke increases.
Initially, only the black smoke was part of the tradition of the conclave, which rose from the chimney as results of the fleets of the burned bee after an unsuccessful voting round.
The white smoke was first used in 1914, when the cardinals decided that the light color smoke should announce the selection of a new Pope, Georgtown University reported.
Now, to ensure that the result of each ballot is clear, the chemicals burn next to the ballots in each round to color the white or black smoke.
Contributed to this report.