The Sicilian Conclave as a Witness of the “Last Judgment” of the World’s Smallest Country
A student from Spain is studying in Italy. She said she was hoping that the pope would follow in Francis’ footsteps.
Patrizia is from Rome and said she hopes to see an Italian pope. “The pope is like family for the Roman citizens,” said Silveri. We consider the pope to be our business.
Ceci Triska said there was a sense of quiet anticipation among the crowd as black smoke billowed on the first evening of the conclave. A group of friends from Texas came with Triska. She said she didn’t have a favorite potential pope in mind, but instead was looking for higher guidance. We are praying the Holy Spirit will take over. Whatever God’s will, it’s going to be great,” Triska said.
The crowd was made up of people of all ages, and different languages. Clergy, laity, faithful and curious, novice and veteran attendees packed into the world’s smallest country to be a part of the historical moment.
St. Peter’s Square was covered in sunlight as the conclave began. People gathered in small groups to chat as they waited for the famed smoke to waft from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Some were sitting on the ground or in the shade.
VATICAN CITY — Black smoke streamed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Thursday morning in Rome, signaling that the 133 cardinal electors have not come to a two-thirds agreement about who the next pontiff should be.
With Wednesday’s ballot, the cardinals have three times voted without a new pope being elected. They are scheduled to vote two more times on Thursday afternoon.
The Sistine Chapel will be used as a backdrop to Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” when the next pope is chosen. Of the Sistine Chapel, Pope John Paul II once wrote, “everything is conducive to an awareness of the presence of God, in whose sight each person will one day be judged.”
The conclave was first held in the chapel in 1492. Then for more than 300 years, conclaves were held in different spaces in the Apostolic Palace, the papal residence. It was not until 1878 that the church again started holding the papal elections in the Sistine Chapel. And it did not become the official site for the conclave until 1996, when Pope John Paul II drafted new rules for papal elections, noted Barbara Jatta, the director of the Vatican Museums.
In the early centuries of the church, the popes were elected by acclamation — a kind of group voice vote — and the clergy as well as the population of Rome could participate. Gradually, voting rights were restricted to the top ranks of the clergy, though external interference from monarchs and aristocrats was common.
The longest conclave was between Nov. 29, 1268 and Sept. 1, 1271. It prompted Gregory X, the pontiff who emerged from that election, to draw up rules that were first used in 1276. John Paul II tinkered with these over the years.
There were periods in history when cardinals were literally walled in, along with a crew of assistants. The Vatican archives and museums have documents referring to payments for some of the additional conclave crews: masters of ceremonies, confessors, sacristans, doctors, nurses and pharmacists.
Mary Hollingsworth, in her book about the 1559 conclave, writes that during the four months that led to the election of Pope Pius IV, “the living conditions in the Vatican had deteriorated dramatically: one cardinal died, many were ill (some of them dying subsequently), and the stench in the Sistine Chapel, where 21 of them had their cells, was so bad that the area had to be fumigated.”
The 55 cardinals who took part in the election of Urban VIII suffered during the heat of the Roman Empire in the summer of 1606, according to documents. By the time they were released, 12 cardinals had a fever, two had to leave because of illness and others were close to death. Urban had to make a change to his election ceremony due to his illness.
The Vatican gardens and the colonnade in St. Peter’s Square were considered to be alternatives to house the cardinals, but were not used.
The Italian president’s residence is the pontifical palace that hosted four conclaves in the early 19th century. The move to the Quirinale was partly for practical considerations: It was more spacious, and the number of cardinals had grown, Ms. Gianfranceschi said. The popes lost the palace when Italy gained its independence in the 18th century, and then the elections were moved to the Sistine Chapel.
The Roman Catholic Church has had only one American pope, and it was Cardinal Robert Prevost. The name Pope LEO XIV was chosen by the man.
A roar erupted in the crowd when they saw the white smoke from the chimney and it was shown on a large screen in St Peter’s Square. The bells of St. Peter’s Basilica began to ring at the same time that news emerged of the new pope. The crowd builds while many carry their flags.
The new pope’s identity is unknown at the moment. The name will be announced in Latin from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Rome is brimming with excitement, as thousands gather near the Via della Conciliazione to be present for the historic moment when the new pope is announced and presented to the world.
While the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics await the emergence of the new leader of their church on the famous loggia, a series of rituals are taking place.
The cardinal electors then pay homage and pledge obedience to the new head of the church, and thanks are given to God while the new pope is taken into a sacristy and fitted with papal attire.
Finally, the pronouncement is made in Latin — “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam!” (“I bring you tidings of great joy: We have a pope!”) — and the new pope gives an apostolic blessing to throngs of faithful.