Pope Francis has died, the Vatican has announced in a video statement. He is the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He died at the age of 88 on Monday, April 21, Easter Monday. He had suffered various ailments in his 13-year reign, with severe complications in recent weeks. In this explainer, The ICIR looks at papal administration following the death of Pope Francis and how a new pope is elected in the Roman Catholic Church.
What happens when a Pope dies
When a Pope dies, the governance of the Catholic Church passes to the College of Cardinals.
Cardinals are bishops and Vatican officials from all over the world, personally chosen by the pope. They are recognisable by their distinctive red vestments.
Following a vacancy in the papacy, the Cardinals hold a series of meetings at the Vatican called general congregations. In the meeting, they discuss the needs and the challenges facing the Catholic Church globally.
They will also be prepared for the upcoming papal election, called a ‘conclave’. Decisions that only the pope can make, such as appointing a bishop or convening the Synod of Bishops, must wait till after the election.
In the past, they made arrangements for the funeral and burial of the deceased pope.
Although no specific date is fixed for the conclave after a Pope’s death, in the past, 15 to 20 days after a papal vacancy, the cardinals gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica for a Mass invoking the guidance of the Holy Spirit in electing a new pope.
Age limits of Cardinals who are qualified to vote in a conclave
For the conclave itself, the cardinals electors process to the Sistine Chapel and take an oath of absolute secrecy before sealing the doors.
The ICIR reports that ‘Cardinal electors’ are those under the age of 80 who are eligible to vote in a conclave.
The Cardinals vote by secret ballot, processing one by one up to Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last judgement, saying a prayer and dropping the twice-folded ballot in a large chalice.
Four rounds of ballots are taken every day until a candidate receives two-thirds of the vote. The result of each ballot is counted aloud and recorded by three cardinals designated as recorders. If no one receives the necessary two-thirds of the vote, the ballots are burned in a stove near the chapel with a mixture of chemicals to produce black smoke.
When a cardinal receives the necessary two-thirds vote, the Dean of the College of Cardinals asks him if he accepts his election. If he accepts, he chooses a papal name and is dressed in papal vestments before processing out to the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The ballots of the final round are burned with chemicals, producing white smoke to signal to the world the election of a new Pope.
Perfect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature, announces from the balcony of St. Peter’s “Habemus Papam” which translates in Engilsh “We have a Pope” before the new pope processes out and imparts his blessing on the city of Rome and the entire world.
What happens now that Pope Francis has died?
The period of official mourning officially begins with the funeral set to be conducted within days.
With the World’s 1.3 billion Catholics now mourning the death of Pope Francis, here is what will happen in the coming days.
News of the 88-year-old’s passing was announced earlier today, two months after he was admitted to the hospital with an infection that developed into pneumonia in both lungs and then kidney failure.
There will now be nine days of official mourning, but the historic process of the conclave, where cardinals will gather in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to choose who will be the next pope-will not begin for at least 15 days from today.
The Vatican Chamberlain, currently Cardinal Kevin Farrell, will first certify officially that Francis is dead by calling his name three times at his bedside.
The Pope’s office and private apartments will be sealed, and the papal fisherman’s rings will be removed from his finger and broken with a hammer.
The body of the Pope will then be dressed in red robes with a white mitre on his head, and he will be taken to St. Peter’s Basilica, where he will lie in state for three days.
His funeral will take place within six days, and in contrast to most of his predecessors-Francis will be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood, rather than in the grottoes beneath St.Peter’s.
Only Cardinals who are under the age of 80 at the time the papal seat becomes vacant are eligible to vote in a conclave.
The ICIR reports that Nigeria has four Cardinals; Francis Arinze, Anthony Olubunmi Okojie, Peter Ebere Okpaleke and John Cardinal Olorunfemi Onaiyekan. However only Okpaleke is eligible to vote in the conclave, others are over 80 and therefore ineligible to vote.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.