How Is a Pope Elected?

If we were to ask Romans this question, they would answer, "Never without us!" And they would be right. Nothing in Rome quite matches papal election fever. Christians not jammed into St. Peter’s Square are praying at home or in church, while believers and unbelievers alike are heatedly debating the matter over a cappuccino (or stronger) in one of the city’s thousand café s, placing bets and, at all hours of the day, tuned into their radios and TV’s.

The Church’s process of choosing a successor to St. Peter has evolved considerably over the centuries. Designation by the previous pope, diocesan vote of the Church at Rome, imperial approval, election by cardinal bishops, pressure from European monarchs or even simple popular acclaim have all, at one time or another, been used to choose the man who would become the Bishop of Rome and supreme pastor of the Church.

Currently popes are elected by the College of Cardinals—which includes the patriarch-cardinals among the Eastern Rite Catholics—during a conclave held after a pope either dies or resigns. The word "conclave" derives from the Latin cum clave, "with a key," to indicate that at the time of the election, the College of Cardinals is enclosed in a kind of "sacred retreat" from all concerns other than meeting in prayer and consultation with each other. Meanwhile the entire Church is encouraged to pray in solidarity with the electors asking the Holy Spirit to "make them so like-minded in their task that a speedy, unanimous and fruitful election may take place." In this way, the election becomes "in a certain sense an act of the whole Church…"(Romano pontifici eligendo , 85).

Pope Paul VI modified the rules for conclaves in 1975 in the above cited apostolic constitution Romano pontifici eligendo. He excluded all cardinals 80 years old or over from the conclave and provided extensively to ensure its secrecy.