The Conclave from the Center Ages to the current day

By Lisa Zengarini*

The time period “Conclave” comes from two Latin phrases: cum (with) and clavis (key). In Church terminology, it designates each the secluded place the place the papal election is held, and the physique of Cardinals convened there to elect the brand new Pope.

Formally established in 1274 by Pope Gregory X

The upcoming Conclave beginning on  Might 7 to elect  the 267th Pope would be the 76th within the kind we all know immediately, which was established by Pope Gregory X in 1274, and the twenty sixth held below the gaze of Michelangelo’s Final Judgment within the Sistine Chapel.

Over the centuries, numerous reforms progressively formed the process for the election of the Pope. The primary vital adjustments have been launched by Pope Nicholas II in 1059 with the Bull In nomine Domini, which specified that solely cardinals might elect the Roman Pontiff.

Earlier than that, the Successor of Peter was chosen with the participation of the ecclesial group: clergy assessed candidates proposed by the devoted, and the bishops selected the Pope. Exterior influences and interferences from political powers, after all, performed a significant position within the election, typically hindering the electoral course of.

In 1179 Pope Alexander III promulgated  the Structure Licet de vitanda introducing the requirement of a two-thirds majority — a key ingredient that is still immediately.

Preparations of the loggia forward of the Conclave

The 1268-1271 election in Viterbo, the longest in Church historical past

Then got here the establishment of the Conclave. This setting was formalized in 1274 by Pope Gregory X within the Structure Ubi periculum which established that in future elections, cardinals ought to be locked away in seclusion “cum clave,” from each inside and outdoors, so they may concentrate on their process of electing the subsequent head of the Catholic Church “with none political or private interference.”

This adopted his personal election within the metropolis of Viterbo in 1271 which lasted practically three years (1268-1271), resulting from exterior interference, and  is thought to be the longest in historical past. The story has it that 1268, 18 cardinals gathered within the papal palace of Viterbo to elect the brand new Pope however couln’t  resolve.  Out of frustration the folks of Viterbo determined to locked them within the palace, and walled up the doorways. Finally, Teobaldo Visconti, then Archdeacon of Liege, who was not a cardinal, nor even a priest, was elected as  Pope Gregory X.

The primary Conclave in in 1276

Following Ubi periculum, the primary official Conclave was held in Arezzo, Tuscany,  in 1276 with the election of Harmless V. In 1621, Pope Gregory XV launched the requirement for secret and written ballots. In 1904, Pius X abolished any claimed proper of exclusion and enforced secrecy about all that occurs within the Conclave—even after iits conclusion. 

Adjustments from the twentieth century to immediately

After World Warfare II, in 1945, Pope Pius XII issued the Apostolic Structure Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis, introducing new guidelines. From the second the Holy See is vacant, all cardinals—together with the Secretary of State and Congregation Prefects—stop their duties, apart from the Camerlengo, the Penitentiary, and the Vicar of Rome. Later, within the Motu proprio Ingravescentem Aetatem, Pope St. Paul VI decreed that solely Cardinals below 80 years outdated might vote.

Not all Conclaves have been held within the Sistine Chapel

The primary Conclave to be held on the Sistine Chapel was in 1492. Though each Conclave has been held on the Sistine Chapel since 1878, over the centuries elections had taken place in numerous areas earlier than a set setting was determined upon. Most have been nonetheless held inside Rome, however 15 have beforehand taken place exterior the Everlasting Metropolis.

Some Conclaves have even been performed exterior of Italy. The Conclave of 1314-16 was held in France, and a century later, the Conclave of 1415-17 was held in Germany.

In his Apostolic Structure “Universi Dominici Gregis” , Pope St. John Paul II’s confirmed essentially the most well-known chapel on this planet, referred to as the “Through Pulchritudinis” (Means of Magnificence) because the official location for the election of the brand new Pope. 

The length of Conclaves

The length of Conclaves varies. As talked about above, the longest  election in historical past was that of Gregory the X, which took two years and two months. On the alternative finish of the spectrum is the one in 1503 which lasted just a few hours and led to the election of Pope Julius II.

The length of the Conclave for late Pope Francis was comparatively quick: he was elected on March 13, 2013 after simply 5 rounds in below two days.

Usually the newly elected Pope seems on the balcony to greet the gang in St. Peter’s Sq. inside an hour from the smoke billowing from the chimney over the Sistine Chapel.

While each Pope over the previous couple of centuries has been a cardinal, this isn’t a requirement. That is extraordinarily frequent nevertheless, and the final Pope to be appointed that was not beforehand a cardinal was City VI in 1378.

*Amedeo Lomonaco contributed to this text.