The conclave to elect the 267th Pope will begin on May 7th, following the conclusion of Novemdiales Masses to pray for the eternal repose of late Pope Francis.
The Cardinals present in Rome have agreed to begin the conclave on May 7th, 2025. The date was set on Monday morning by the approximately 180 cardinals present (just over a hundred of whom are electors) gathered for the fifth General Congregation in the Vatican. The conclave will take place in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, which will remain closed to visitors during those days.
What happens during the conclave?
The conclave will be preceded by a solemn Eucharistic celebration with the votive Mass Pro Eligendo Pontifice attended by the Cardinal electors. In the afternoon, the Cardinal electors proceed in a solemn procession to the Sistine Chapel, where the Conclave begins to elect the new Pope. At the end of the procession inside the Sistine Chapel, each Cardinal elector takes the oath as prescribed in paragraph 53 of Universi Dominici Gregis. Through this oath, they commit, if elected, to faithfully fulfill the Munus Petrinum as Pastor of the Universal Church.
They also pledge to maintain absolute secrecy regarding everything related to the election of the Roman Pontiff and to refrain from supporting any attempts of external interference in the election. At this point, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations proclaims extra omnes, meaning that all individuals who are not part of the Conclave must leave the Sistine Chapel. Only the Master himself and the ecclesiastic designated to deliver the second meditation remain. This meditation focuses on the grave responsibility that rests upon the electors and the necessity of acting with pure intentions for the good of the Universal Church, keeping only God before their eyes. Once the meditation is delivered, both the ecclesiastic and the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations leave.
The Cardinal electors then recite prayers according to the Ordo Sacrorum Rituum Conclavis and listen to the Cardinal Dean, who asks whether they are ready to proceed with voting or if any clarifications regarding the rules and procedures. All election procedures take place exclusively in the Sistine Chapel within the Vatican Apostolic Palace, which remains completely sealed off until the election is concluded.
Throughout the election process, the Cardinal electors must refrain from sending letters or engaging in conversations, including phone calls, except in cases of extreme urgency. They are not allowed to send or receive messages of any kind, receive newspapers or magazines of any nature, or follow radio or television broadcasts.
How many votes are required to elect a Pope?
To validly elect a new Pope, a two-thirds majority of the electors present is required. If the total number of electors is not evenly divisible by three, an additional vote is necessary. If voting begins on the afternoon of the first day, there will be only one ballot. On subsequent days, two ballots are held in the morning and two in the afternoon. After the votes are counted, all ballots are burned. If the ballot was inconclusive, a chimney positioned over the Sistine Chapel emits black smoke.
If a Pope is elected, white smoke will billow out of the chimney. If the electors fail to reach an agreement on a candidate after three days of inconclusive voting, a break of up to one day is allowed for prayer, free discussion among voters, and a brief spiritual exhortation by the Cardinal Proto-Deacon (Cardinal Dominique Mamberti).
What happens immediately after a new Pope is elected?
Once the Cardinals have elected a new Pope, the last of the Cardinal Deacons calls the Secretary of the College of Cardinals and the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations into the Sistine Chapel. The Dean of the College, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, speaking on behalf of all the electors, asks for the elected candidate’s consent with the following words: “Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?”
Upon receiving consent, he then asks: “What name do you wish to be called?” The functions of a notary, with two Ceremonial Officers as witnesses, are carried out by the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, who drafts the document of acceptance and records the chosen name. From this moment, the newly-elected Pope acquires full and supreme authority over the universal Church. The Conclave ends immediately at this point. The Cardinal electors then pay homage and pledge obedience to the new Pope, and thanks are given to God. The Cardinal Proto-Deacon then announces to the faithful the election and the name of the new Pontiff with the famous line: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; Habemus Papam.”
Immediately afterward, the new Pope gives the Apostolic Blessing Urbi et Orbi from the Loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. The final step required is that, after the solemn inauguration ceremony of the Pontificate and within a suitable time, the new Pope formally takes possession of the Patriarchal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.
… Who will elect the next Pope?
By Lisa Zengarini and Tiziana Campisi
The upcoming Conclave opening on May 7 will be less Eurocentric than it has ever been before, with over three-quarters of the 135 Cardinal electors appointed by Pope Francis, who reshaped the College of Cardinals, extending a more “generous” gaze on the peripheries of the Church.
By Lisa Zengarini and Tiziana Campisi
The 135 Cardinals Electors of the College of Cardinals hail from 71 different countries across the five continents. More than three-quarters of them (108) were appointed by Pope Francis, while 22 were created by Benedict XVI, and five by St. John Paul II, making them the “veterans” of the Conclave. They are: French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Croatian Cardinal Josip Bozanić, Cardinal Vinko Puljić from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana.
A less euro-centric body
During his 12 years of pontificate Pope Francis significantly reshaped the College of Cardinals, making it a less Euro-centric and a more international body. This reflected both the late Pope’s personal inclination to shift the centre of gravity of Catholicism toward the Global South, with a focus on the “peripheries”, and the broader trend that the Church of the future will likely have an increasingly non-European face. For the first time, 12 nations will be represented by their native Cardinal electors.
They include: Cardinals Chibly Langlois from Haiti; Arlindo Furtado Gomes from Cape Verde; Dieudonné Nzapalainga from the Central African Republic; John Ribat from Papua New Guinea; Sebastian Francis from Malaysia; Anders Arborelius from Sweden; Jean-Claude Hollerich from Luxembourg; Cardinal Virgilio do Carmo da Silva from Timor Leste; William Seng Chye Goh from Singapore; Adalberto Martínez Flores from Paraguay; Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla from South Sudan, and Cardinal Ladislav Nemet from Serbia.
53 Cardinals from Europe
However, Europe still carries a significant weight in the College of Cardinals. The old continent is represented by 53 Cardinal electors (some of whom head Dioceses and Archdioceses in non-European countries, or serve as Apostolic Nuncios abroad or in the Curia), with Italy still having the largest number (19), followed by France (6) and Spain (5).
37 Cardinals from the Americas, 23 from Asia, 18 from Africa and 4 from Oceania
37 Cardinal electors are from the Americas (16 from North America, 4 from Central America, and 17 from South America), 23 from Asia, 18 from Africa, and 4 from Oceania Thus, while the European Cardinals still represent the majority of those who will gather in the Conclave, the “rest of the world” now clearly surpasses Europe, with the Americas as a whole significantly increasing its “weight”. Although regional representation alone won’t determine the outcome of the election of the new Pope, which is also influenced by other critical factors, the geographical aspect cannot be overlooked given the global impact of the Pope’s role.
The ages of the Cardinal electors
Regarding the age of the Electors, the youngest Cardinal in the College is the Australian Ukrainian-born Mikola Bychok, aged 45, while the oldest is the Spaniard Carlos Osoro Sierra, aged 79. Six Cardinals were born in the Seventies : they are Italian Cardinal Baldassarre Reina, the Vicar of the Diocese of Rome who will turn 55 this coming November; Canadian Frank Leo (1971); Lithuanian Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, the Coadjutor Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (1972); Indian George Jacob Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue (1973); Portuguese Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar (1973), and Italian-born Giorgio Marengo (1974), Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, which will be represented for the first time ever in a Conclave. Other age groups include 50 Cardinals born in the Fourties, 47 in the Fifties, and 31 in the Sixties. The most represented birth year group is 1947, with 13 Cardinals aged or approaching 78.
33 Cardinals belonging to religious orders
Among the Cardinal electors, 33 belong to 18 different religious orders. The Salesians are the most represented with five members: Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Virgilio Do Carmo da Silva, Ángel Fernández Artime, Cristóbal López Romero, and Daniel Sturla Berhouet. Four belong the Order of Friars Minor (Luis Cabrera Herrera, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Jaime Spengler, and Leonardo Steiner) and four are Jesuits (Stephen Chow Sau-yan, Michael Czerny, Jean-Claude Hollerich, and Ángel Rossi). Three are Conventual Franciscans (François-Xavier Bustillo, Mauro Gambetti, and Dominique Mathieu).
Attending the Conclave will also be two Dominicans (Timothy Radcliffe and Jean-Paul Vesco), two Redemptorists (Mykola Bychok and Joseph Tobin), two members of the Divine Word Missionaries (Tarcisio Kikuchi and Ladislav Nemet), and one each from several other Congregations: Augustinian Robert Prevost, Capuchin Fridolin Ambongo Besungu Discalced Carmelite Anders Arborelius, Cistercian Orani João Tempesta, Claretian Vicente Bokalic Iglic, Pius X Secular Institute member Gérald Lacroix, Lazarist Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, Consolata Missionary Giorgio Marengo, Missionary of the Sacred Heart John Ribat, Scalabrinian Fabio Baggio, and Spiritan Dieudonné Nzapalainga.
Two absentees
Of the 135 Cardinals eligible to vote, two have confirmed they won’t be able to attend the Conclave for health reasons bringing the total down to 133.
