How does the conclave pick a new pope? 8 things to know

How does the conclave elect a new pope? 8 things to know

Who will be the next pope?

The world won’t know the next bishop of Rome, the apostolic successor of St. Peter the Apostle and the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics until he stands before a crowd of followers in St. Peter’s Square. But in the days ahead, influential members of the Catholic Church around the globe will be engaged in a process that is both spiritual and practical.

For the first time since 2013, the College of Cardinals is convening in Vatican City for a conclave to select a successor to Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21. The word “conclave,” recently made famous by the Oscar-nominated 2024 film of the same title, is derived from a Latin term for a “room that can be locked up.

When will the conclave be held?

The conclave will get underway May 7. It will be the first in 20 years following a pontiff’s death to be held.

A conclave has to begin 15 to 20 days after the seat of the pope becomes “legally vacant.” That’s under an apostolic constitution drawn up by Pope John Paul II in 1996 and refined by Benedict XVI in 2013.

WATCH: World leaders and devoted mourners bid dignified farewell to Pope Francis

Pope John Paul II’s death in 2005 led to the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Twelve years ago, Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation prompted the conclave that elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio to the papacy.

Pope Francis waves as he arrives to lead the general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the VaticanPope Francis waves as he arrives to lead the general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Aug. 26, 2015. Photo by Max Rossi/ Reuters

How does the conclave pick a new pope? 8 things to know
Where does the conclave occur?

The conclave occurs in Vatican City, the city-state of Italy inside Rome, which is ruled by the Holy See.

The cardinals meet at St. Peter’s Basilica to mark a special Mass before solemnly going later in the day within the Sistine Chapel, where the voting will occur.

Pope Francis celebrates a Mass to baptise babies in the Sistine Chapel at the VaticanPope Francis in the Sistine Chapel in 2020. Photo by Vatican Media/Handout via Reuters

How long will the conclave last?

The apostolic constitution establishes a voting schedule until there is a two-thirds majority of votes for the election of a new pope.

The cardinals are allowed to vote once in the afternoon on the first day. After that, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon on each subsequent day, the cardinals vote.

 

When a pope is not elected within three days of voting, the cardinals recess from voting for as much as one day “to provide an opportunity for a prayer pause, spontaneous discussion among the electors, and a short spiritual exhortation” by an influential cardinal.

Although there are protocols in case a conclave exceeds three days, don’t anticipate the 2025 conclave to reach that length.

The longest papal election in history took more than two years in the late 1200s. It prompted reforms, including that the cardinals meet in conclave to elect a new pope.

Only twice in the 20th century did a conclave stretch for five days (1903 and 1922). In the 21st century, the 2005 and 2013 conclaves each lasted two days.

Who can vote in the election?

Cardinals – the second-most senior clergy in the Church after the pope – who are below the age of 80 when the papacy falls vacant are the sole qualified voters in the conclave. One hundred and thirty-five of the Church’s 252 cardinals will be qualified to vote for the next pope in 2025, although two cardinals reported they won’t participate because of health.

WATCH: Vatican prepares for Francis’ funeral and possibly divisive papal conclave

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who last week claimed he had a right to attend the conclave even after Francis pressured him to resign his influential Vatican role and his rights as a cardinal in 2020 because of allegations of financial impropriety, changed his mind Tuesday. Having in mind the good of the church, which I have served and will keep serving with fidelity and love, and to contribute to the communion and peace of the conclave, I have decided to obey as I have always done the will of Pope Francis not to enter the conclave while remaining convinced of my innocence,” he said in a statement through his attorneys.

Mass to mourn late Pope Francis held at St. Peter’sCardinals celebrate a mourning Mass for late Pope Francis on the fourth day of Novendiali (nine days of mourning following the Pope’s funeral) at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on April 29, 2025.

Who can become pope?

Any baptized male Catholic can be made pope, whether he’s a member of the priesthood or not, under canon law. The only stipulation is that he needs to be ordained a bishop upon his acceptance of the election.

For the past 600-plus years, the College of Cardinals has elected one of their own. Look for the same result this time, the historians and professors of law and theology told PBS News.

How does voting go?

There’s no electronic voting in a papal election.

Once every round of voting and after the paper ballots are cast and verified, they are incinerated. White smoke billows out of a chimney above the Sistine Chapel to inform the crowd in St. Peter’s Square that a round of voting has concluded.

Black smoke means that the cardinals have not made a decision. White smoke indicates that a new pope has been elected.

FILE PHOTO: Black smoke billows from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel in Saint Peter’s Square at the VaticanBlack smoke billows from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel in Saint Peter’s Square on March 13, 2013, signaling no decision.

Why are conclaves so secretive?

The conclave rules require the cardinals to hire “two reliable technicians” to verify that “no audiovisual equipment for transmission or recording has been fitted by any person” within the Sistine Chapel or nearby space. The cardinals, in the meantime, are required to “abstain from written communication and from all oral conversation, including by telephone or radio,” with anyone outside the conclave.

Until the early 20th century, Catholic kings claimed they could veto the cardinals’ selection of pope. “They had cardinals who would speak on their behalf and could veto a choice,” said Charles J. Reid Jr., a law professor at Minneapolis’ University of St. Thomas.

Pope Pius X fully prohibited the practice in 1904. “Ever since then, you’ve had this tremendous worry that someone could communicate inside the College of Cardinals and influence the outcome,” Reid said. “You want the outcome to be the pure working of the internal dynamics of the College of Cardinals.”

The confidentiality of the process “is to assist in preventing, on the one hand, political and other bodies having an impact as much as possible,” Jeffrey Morrow, professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, said, and “to emphasize for the faithful that this is a decision of the Holy Spirit, so that we don’t view this too politically, we don’t over politicize it.

Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican is silhouetted at sunset in RomeSaint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican is silhouetted at sunset in Rome, just before Roman Catholic Cardinals started their conclave within the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel Tuesday to choose a new pope.

What occurs after the conclave chooses a pope?

Once elected as pope, he is queried if he will accept his “canonical election as Supreme Pontiff” and to choose his papal name.

The new pope is escorted to the “Room of Tears” in the Sistine Chapel, so called because of the sheer emotion that previous pontiffs have felt. There, he dons white vestments and is given a new pectoral cross and white zucchetto, or headpiece. The cardinals welcome the new pope and swear their obedience to him.

By tradition, the College of Cardinals’ most senior cardinal deacon informs the crowd at St. Peter’s Square and the millions outside, “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; Habemus Papam.” (“I announce to you a great joy: We have a pope.”)

A short while later, the new pope gives a blessing to the crowd from one of the balconies of St. Peter’s Basilica.

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How does the conclave pick a new pope? 8 things to know