Conclave begins: Everything you need to know about the Catholic ritual for choosing the new pope

Cardinals of the Catholic Church have convened in Vatican City for the papal conclave, during which they will choose the new pope.

The convention of cardinals, as the dayslong meeting is called, comes a little over two weeks after the death of Pope Francis, the church's 266th pope, who died at 88.

A special chimney was installed atop the Sistine Chapel, with the color of smoke set to be the first indication of whether the group has reached a decision: black smoke for no consensus, white smoke to indicate a new pope has been chosen.

To better understand how the conclave works, Stefania Tutino, professor and vice chair for academic personnel in UCLA's history department, whose research interests include post-Reformation Catholicism, Catholic moral theology, and the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, broke down what to expect from the Church's ancient tradition.

Who participates in the conclave?

"All cardinals who aren't older than 80 and have not been deposed or otherwise excluded have the right to vote in the election of the pope and, therefore, to participate in the conclave," Tutino said. A cardinal could be considered deposed, or not in good standing, if he had been deprived of his status because of doctrinal reasons or has been convicted of or is facing charges for a variety of crimes.

For example, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who is out on appeal after being convicted in December 2023 of embezzlement related to the sale of a building in London, said he would follow Francis' wishes and not take part in the ritual. "Having at heart the good of the Church, which I have served and will continue to serve with faithfulness and love, and in order to contribute to the communion and serenity 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.

What happens inside the conclave?

"The conclave is the meeting called to elect a new pope. Before the vote begins on the first day, there is a special Mass and special prayers, and then the cardinals begin to vote," Tutino said, adding "they can vote twice - one time in the morning and another time in the afternoon."

The cardinals vote by secret ballot, with a two-thirds majority required to elect a new pope.

Despite the hundreds of times the process has occurred across the history of the Catholic Church, "what happens inside the conclave is guarded with the utmost secrecy," Tutino said.

How are candidates chosen in the conclave?

"In the conclave there are no speeches and no 'campaign.' There is no age limit to be elected pope," Tutino said. "Before the conclave begins, there are 'special congregations,' i.e., special meetings among cardinals, in which cardinals can talk about what they feel is important for the Church to face in the future and discuss the challenges and opportunities they see. They are under strict obligation to avoid 'trading votes' or explicitly agreeing on specific candidates, but again, the content of those conversations is absolutely secret."

How does voting work in the conclave and who counts the ballots?

"Three cardinals (who are chosen among the cardinal electors by drawing lots) act as 'poll watchers' (scrutatori) and oversee the voting procedure. All ballots are put in a box, then extracted one by one and counted. If there are fewer (or more, as the case might be) ballots than voters, everything gets burned and a new vote is taken," Tutino said.

"If the numbers match, the scrutatori read out loud the names in the ballot and keep track of the votes. If the two-thirds majority is reached, the ballots get burned in a way that produces white smoke; if not, they burn into a black smoke," Tutino added.

Are there parts of the conclave that are more modern, or is it an entirely ancient ritual?

"The conclave is, by and large, an ancient ritual, but modifications were made by Pope John Paul II and more recently in 2013 by Benedict XVI. Those modifications involve mostly matters of quorum, the number of votes allowed per day, and logistical matters concerning the cardinals' lodging," Tutino said.

Lastly, what happens after the new pope is chosen?

Once the two-thirds majority is reached, the smoke produced by the burned ballots is white, signaling to the world the new pope has been selected, Tutino said. "When that happens, the Protodeacon of the College of Cardinals (who right now is Cardinal Dominique Mamberti) will officially announce the successful election with the words 'Habemus Papam,' which is Latin for 'We have a Pope,' and introduce the new pope," Tutino said.