After the death of Pope Francis, the Roman Catholic Church began the process of electing a new pontiff. This secretive and deeply symbolic ritual has hardly changed over the past 800 years.
The new pope is elected by the cardinals, the highest hierarchs of the Catholic Church, who gather in the Vatican for a papal conclave. Cardinals lose their right to vote after reaching the age of 80, so this time 138 voters are taking part in the vote – more than the official limit of 120, which was exceeded after the appointment of Pope Francis in December 2024.
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After the solemn mass in St Peter’s Basilica, the cardinals will isolate themselves in the Sistine Chapel, where they will remain until the new pope is elected. The first round of voting may take place immediately, followed by two rounds in the morning and evening. All the ballots are burned after each round – black smoke from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel means that the pope has not yet been elected, and white smoke means that the new pontiff has already been chosen.
To win the papal throne, a candidate must win two-thirds of the vote. Despite the ban on open campaigning, the process is considered to be quite politicised – cardinals discuss the merits and positions of candidates, although they are formally guided by the ‘inspiration of the Holy Spirit’.
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After the victory, the new Pope is asked if he accepts his election. Then he chooses a name and appears on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, where the famous ‘Habemus Papam’ is proclaimed – ‘We have a Pope’. The new pontiff addresses the faithful and gives the blessing of ‘Urbi et Orbi’ to the city and the world.
All voting documents are transferred to the Vatican archives and remain classified unless the Pope decides otherwise.
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