Politico explains what will happen when Pope Francis dies through a ritual of electing a new religious leader that has origins even in antiquity.
With Pope Francis hospitalized with pneumonia in both lungs, the world is on alert for the worst-case scenario: The death of a pontiff.
Francis, who lost part of a lung to a respiratory infection in his youth and has been plagued by health issues in recent times, last year approved a low-key funeral for himself when the time comes, avoiding some of the more secretive ceremonies and rituals that take place when a pope dies, Politico reveals.
But its end, whenever it comes, is still the immediate beginning of a tightly planned series of events, refined and shaped over the centuries by hundreds of dead popes. Some Vatican traditions date back to Roman antiquity, the international media outlet points out.
The announcement of death
The new leader of the Catholic Church will be chosen in a high-stakes election. This process is traditionally the job of the camerlengo (a senior Vatican official) who comes to confirm the death of a pope. Currently, that position is held by Irish-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell. If tradition holds, Farrell will be the one to visit Pope Francis’ body in his private chapel and call out his name to wake him. Today, this is largely ceremonial, as doctors will have confirmed the pontiff’s death with more modern medical means. An oft-repeated myth claims that the camerlengo also gently taps the pope on the head with a silver gavel, a claim the Vatican has long denied. When the pontiff fails to respond, according to tradition, his ring that serves as a seal for official papal documents is tarnished or destroyed, signaling the end of his reign, and the papal apartments are sealed. The camerlengo informs the College of Cardinals, a governing body of senior church officials, that the pope has died, before his death is announced to the world in an official Vatican statement to the media.
The mourning period
The Pope's death will trigger nine days of mourning, known as Novendiale, which was originally an ancient Roman custom. Italy also usually declares a period of national mourning.
His body will be blessed, dressed in papal vestments and placed on public display in St. Peter's Basilica, where hundreds of thousands will attend to pay their respects, including foreign dignitaries and world leaders. In the past, the pope's body has been displayed on a raised platform called a catapult, but Francis' simplified funeral rites will see him lie in an open coffin without as much pomp and pageantry, the report said.
Historically, popes were often embalmed and some had their organs removed before burial – a church near the Trevi Fountain in Rome holds the hearts of more than 20 popes in marble shrines, preserved as sacred relics – but these practices have fallen out of favor. As Pope Francis rests, prayers and requiem masses will be held daily in St. Peter’s Basilica and across the Catholic world.
Meanwhile, the Vatican will enter a transitional period called sede vacante, meaning "the see is vacant," during which church governance is temporarily handed over to the College of Cardinals — although no major decisions can be made until a new pope is elected.
The Pope's funeral
The pope's funeral will likely take place in St. Peter's Square, with mourners gathering at the Vatican for the ceremony. The dean of the College of Cardinals, 91-year-old Italian Giovanni Battista Re, will lead the ceremony. Traditionally, the pope is then buried in the Vatican grottoes, in the crypts beneath St. Peter's Basilica. Nearly 100 popes have been buried there, including Pope Benedict XVI, Francis' predecessor, who resigned in 2013 and died in 2022.
But Francis said in an interview in 2023 that he had chosen the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, one of his favorite and most frequently visited churches, as his final resting place, making him the first pope in a century to be buried outside the Vatican.
Previous popes were buried in three coffins: one made of cypress, one of zinc, and one of elm, nested inside each other, but Francis ordered that he be buried in a single coffin, made of wood and zinc. When Benedict XVI was buried, his coffin also contained coins minted during his reign, as well as a metal tube containing a rolled-up paper scroll called a rogito – a 1.000-word document recounting his life and reign. Francis will likely be buried with his own rogito, which details his own path.
The election
Two to three weeks after the pope's funeral, the College of Cardinals will convene in the Sistine Chapel to hold a conclave, the highly secretive process of electing a new pope. In theory, any baptized male Roman Catholic is eligible for the papacy, but for the past 700 years, the pope has always been chosen by the College of Cardinals. The vast majority of the 266 popes elected throughout history have been Europeans. Pope Francis, who was born in Argentina, is the first non-European pontiff in 1.300 years. Unlike the conventional political election process, candidates do not openly campaign for the position. Vatican watchers have identified the cardinals who have a good chance of becoming pope. On the day of the vote, the Sistine Chapel, with its famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo, is naturally sealed and the cardinals, who have taken an oath of secrecy, are locked inside.
Only cardinals under 80 are eligible to vote. About 120 will cast a secret ballot for their candidate, writing their name on a ballot paper and placing it in a chalice atop the Holy Table. If no candidate receives the required two-thirds majority, another round of voting takes place. There can be up to four rounds per day. The conclave that elected Pope Francis in 2013 lasted about 24 hours and five votes, but the process can take longer: a conclave in the 13th century lasted about three years, while another in the 18th century took four months, Politico reports.
After the ballots are counted, they are burned in a stove inside the Sistine Chapel, which has been set up in advance by Vatican firefighters. A second stove burns a chemical that sends a smoke signal through a chimney to the outside world: Black smoke means no new pope has been chosen, white smoke means one has been chosen.
The new Pope
Once the pope is chosen, a representative of the College of Cardinals reads the Latin proclamation “Habemus papam,” meaning “We have a Pope,” from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to thousands of worshippers. The newly elected pope, after choosing a papal name (likely one honoring a saint or predecessor) and donning a white cassock, then steps onto the balcony to deliver his first public address. And with this ceremony complete, the Catholic world has a new religious leader. Along with defining the teachings and ethics of the church, the pope wields significant diplomatic and political power in world politics, acting as a mediator in global conflicts and guiding humanitarian efforts.
Most popes serve until the day they die. Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned in 2013 at the age of 85 due to declining health, was the first pontiff to resign in 600 years.
Source: iefimerida.gr
