Conclave Voting Begins: What To Expect & What The Next Pope Will Inherit
Catholic cardinals gathered at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Wednesday to elect a new pope following the death of Pope Francis on April 21.
All 133 voting cardinals, from 70 different countries and territories, must swear an oath of secrecy, placing their hands on the Book of the Gospels before the official start of the conclave. Modern technology is banned throughout the process: no phones, no recordings, and absolutely no leaks.
The secretive voting process - so secretive even the cardinals are watching the movie ‘Conclave’ for pointers - will continue until a candidate receives at least two-thirds of the votes. After each round of voting, ballots are burned — black smoke means no pope yet, white smoke signals a new pontiff. Here’s a livestream of the Vatican which tracks chimney activity — just after 3 pm ET today (9 pm local time) there was black smoke — signaling a pope was not yet chosen (not a surprise).
Timing: Voting will take place at approximately 4:30 a.m. ET (10:30 a.m. local), 6:00 a.m. ET (noon local), 11:30 a.m. ET (5:30 p.m. local), and 1:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. local) from Thursday through Saturday.
After three days, if no pope is chosen, voting will pause for a day of reflection. The most recent conclaves for Pope Francis in 2013 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 were completed within two days.
WHO COULD IT BE
While technically any Catholic man can become pope, the cardinals usually select from within their own ranks. He’s not Catholic, so it definitely won’t be President Trump - despite his interest in the job. Here are some names being thrown around:
Luis Tagle (67, Philippines): Seen as a Francis-like figure for his focus on social justice and openness to LGBTQ+ and divorced Catholics, but he’s been criticized for not being tough enough on clerical sex abuse. If chosen, he would be the first pope from Southeast Asia.
Pietro Parolin (70, Italy): Vatican Secretary of State since 2013, known as a centrist and skilled diplomat, especially for helping establish ties between the Church and China in a controversial deal which gives Chinese authorities some say in what Chinese priests are made bishops.
Matteo Zuppi (69, Italy): The close ally of Francis led Italy’s bishops’ conference and served as Francis’ peace envoy to Ukraine.
Fridolin Ambongo Besungu (65, Democratic Republic of Congo): An advocate for Africa’s growing Catholic population, but more conservative — he opposed blessings for gay people. He would be the first pope from Africa in more than 1,500 years.
WHAT THEY INHERIT
Pope Francis was tasked with combating decades of the Vatican’s financial mismanagement and money laundering. Francis, who made headlines for rejecting some of the more luxurious trappings of the papacy, cut cardinals’ salaries three times, hired an auditor, and moved to end discounted Vatican housing for senior officials. Despite those efforts, the Vatican’s budget deficit tripled under his watch.
In February, Francis urged parishes to increase donations from the church’s 1.4-billion parishioners as it faces tens of millions in annual budget shortfalls on top of more than a billion in unfunded liability on its pension fund.
The Vatican — a small independent country within Rome — must also fund civil services, embassies, and the Papal Swiss Guard. The tax-exempt enclave draws around $100 million annually from its seven million annual visitors who flock to see masterpieces by Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and Leonardo da Vinci — none of which the Vatican plans to sell to cover costs.
As The Wall Street Journal put it, “A tiny country of unfathomable riches has been unable to sustain the basic functions of a state without running a perilous deficit.” Cardinals from the U.S. and Germany, the Vatican’s largest donor bases, have tried to educate their peers on the financial perils — though some see it as an earthly concern.
Bottom line: Francis was unable to root out the Vatican’s “culture of financial malpractice.” The next pope will face the same steep challenge.