How the College of Cardinals Will Elect Our New Pope

The news of the death of Pope John Paul II triggers a series of related events. One is the election of a new pope by the College of Cardinals. According to the Vatican Directory, known as the Annuario Pontificio, the next pope will be the 263rd pope in church history--all of them in direct apostolic succession to Peter, our first pope.

The election of a pope occurs in a closed meeting or "conclave" of the College of Cardinals. As they enter the conclave, the participating cardinals take an oath that they will obey the rules of election set forth by the pope, and maintain total secrecy about how they voted.

The meeting or conclave is called by the dean of the College of Cardinals. The number of cardinals participating in electing the new pope is 117. All the cardinal-electors must be under eighty years of age. It is interesting to point out that the cardinals are appointed by the pope and serve as his principal advisors. In the case of the death of the reigning pope, they also serve as electors of the new pope.

The election itself takes place in the Sistine Chapel, with only the cardinal-electors present. A vote of two-thirds plus one is required to elect a new pope. If a new pope is not elected after a certain number of secret ballots, the cardinal-electors may agree to elect the new pope by an absolute majority (half plus one) instead of the two-thirds plus one majority.

Two secret ballots are held each day of the conclave. Ballots from inconclusive votes are burned with straw and chemicals to produce black smoke. As the black smoke rises from the chimney, it tells everyone that no new pope has been elected. However, ballots from the conclusive vote are burned without straw and chemicals. This produces white smoke. The white smoke rising from the chimney then signifies to the world that a new pope has been elected.