The funeral of the Pope, known as “Missa Posteranialis”, will be in front of pilgrims and representatives of the governments of the world at St. Peter Square, as well as aired internationally. Typically, Pontiff’s body is placed in a casket made of three materials – cypress, lead, and walnuts – and then covered with a silk veil, which is taken before sealing and in the Vatican Groto below the basilica, where almost all predecessors rest. However, Pope Francis also replaced the process: he asked to be buried in the basilica of St. Mary Major, his favorite place of prayer before becoming a Pope. He also simplified the funeral ritual, reduced the closure of the coffin from two to one.
After this, the duration of the conclave begins – the collegium gathering of all cardinal elections which will be found in the Vatican to choose the successor of Bergoglyo. Its name comes from Latin Cum ClaveWhich means “with the key,” describing the closed process of choosing a new pope. Typically, it begins 15 to 20 days after Pontif’s death, which allows cardinals around the world to reach Rome. However, here too, Pope Francis strengthened the procedures, urged the cardinals to carry on the commencement of the conclave if all the voters are already prescribed in the Vatican before the 15 days.
There are more than 220 cardinals from more than 70 countries. People over 80 years of age have been excluded from voting, which means only 120 voting cardinals are the electors. Two-thirds of cardinal elections were selected by Francis in the last decade, with many ages and sensitivity that reflected his relative progressivism.
The collected cardinals will then begin their ideas in the Systine Chapel. Any will announce: “Extra Omness,” calling for the door to close against everyone, but the voting cardinal will be closed against some officers and doctors. No contact with the outside world is allowed during the process: the phones are removed and checked for the room listening tools. Cardinals live in St. Martha House, a hostel formed for a purpose during the entire vote.
After a mass, discussions and voting will be with a break for prayer after every seven ballot papers. A daily secret vote will be held by each morning and afternoon until a candidate gets a two-thirds majority. After 30 ballot papers with no concrete results, a candidate will be selected on a simple majority. Bellet cards are burnt after each round, chemicals are added to reflect the result: the iconic chimney will pump with black smoke to make no decision, and the white smoke will confirm the new pope.
