Conclave Set to Begin as Cardinals Gather to Choose New Pope
- AP News
Vatican, VoxPop – As more than a billion Catholics around the world await the election of a new pope, all eyes will be on the Sistine Chapel, where 133 cardinals will begin the secretive process known as a conclave on Wednesday morning in Vatican City.
Throughout the week, pilgrims and journalists have flocked to St. Peter's Square, as cardinals held closed-door meetings to discuss church issues and the qualities they want to see in the next pope.
The pilgrims sing sacred hymns, while the journalists try to corner cardinals for clues about their papal preferences, as quoted from NPR site.
The conclave was set in motion by the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at age 88. Francis himself was elected in 2013, when he became the first-ever pope from Latin America.
Para kardinal memasuki Kapel Sistina sebelum konklaf (Ilustrasi)
- Vatican News
After nine days of services in memory of Francis, the conclave will be preceded on Wednesday by a special Mass for the election of his successor in St. Peter's Basilica.
From there, the cardinals, wearing red robes, will proceed to the Sistine Chapel, where under Michelangelo's famous frescoes they will hear sermons and then begin voting.
Until they elect a new pope, signaled by plumes of white smoke streaming from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals are sequestered inside Vatican City. Outside the chapel, the Pontifical Swiss Guard stands watch.
Conclave begins with oaths of secrecy
The rituals take place according to rules popes have refined over the centuries, clarifying the time frame and obligations.
But the conclave itself must be obscured by "total secrecy," as Pope John Paul II wrote.
Cardinal electors must sign an oath of secrecy and seclusion, under threat of excommunication.
That's why the process intrigues so many people, says Gregg Gassman, a librarian who edits the Pontifacts podcast.
"Some of the mystery does come from the closed nature of the conclave itself," he said, "It's fascinating."
