This is the dramatic moment 133 cardinals began filing into the Sistine Chapel to begin the secretive, centuries-old ritual to elect a successor to Pope Francis.
Hailing from 70 different countries, the geographically diverse group chanted the meditative ‘Litany of the Saints’ and the Latin hymn ‘Veni Creator,’ as they walked in, imploring the saints and the Holy Spirit to help them pick a pope.
Once inside, they will pledge to maintain secrecy about what’s about to transpire and to not allow any interference from outsiders to influence their voting.
Standing before Michelangelo’s vision of heaven and hell in ‘The Last Judgment,’ each cardinal places his hand on the Gospel and swears to carry out that duty.
The awesomeness of the chapel’s frescoes, and Michelangelo’s in particular, is meant to remind the cardinals of the weighty responsibility they bear.
After the cardinals take their oaths, a senior cardinal delivers a meditation.
The master of papal liturgical ceremonies, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, calls out ‘Extra omnes,’ Latin for ‘all out.’ Anyone not eligible to vote then leaves and the chapel doors close, allowing the work to begin.
Hailing from 70 different countries, the geographically diverse group chanted the meditative ‘Litany of the Saints’ and the Latin hymn ‘Veni Creator,’ as they walked in
Once inside, they will pledge to maintain secrecy about what’s about to transpire and to not allow any interference from outsiders to influence their voting
Standing before Michelangelo’s vision of heaven and hell in ‘The Last Judgment,’ each cardinal places his hand on the Gospel and swears to carry out that dut
After the cardinals take their oaths, a senior cardinal delivers a meditation
This morning the 133 electors, dressed in distinctive bright red vestments trimmed with gold thread, heard of the ‘weighty decision’ they must make.at a special mass.
Smoke indicating whether or not the 267th pope has been chosen could come from the specially-erected chimney of the Sistine Chapel as early as Wednesday evening.
If black smoke rises into the air over St Peter’s Square, it will confirm no-one achieved the required two-thirds majority, and voting will resume tomorrow.
Up to four votes a day can take place from then, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, with white smoke confirming a new pope has been chosen.
There are three UK cardinals taking part in conclave – Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe and Rome-based Cardinal Arthur Roche.
Cardinal Nichols had called on people to pray for himself and other cardinals as they embark on the secret voting process, adding that he feels ‘quite intimidated’ knowing the world is watching to see who they choose.
The voting cardinals – those aged under 80 who are the only ones eligible to cast a ballot – were urged to ‘invoke the help of the Holy Spirit’ to help them elect a pope ‘whom the Church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history’.
Addressing them in St Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said: ‘To pray, by invoking the Holy Spirit, is the only right and proper attitude to take as the cardinal electors prepare to undertake an act of the highest human and ecclesial responsibility and to make a choice of exceptional importance.
Smoke indicating whether or not the 267th pope has been chosen could come from the specially-erected chimney of the Sistine Chapel as early as Wednesday evening
The voting cardinals – those aged under 80 who are the only ones eligible to cast a ballot – were urged to ‘invoke the help of the Holy Spirit’ to help them elect a pope
Addressing them in St Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said: ‘To pray, by invoking the Holy Spirit, is the only right and proper attitude to take as the cardinal electors prepare to undertake an act of the highest human and ecclesial responsibility and to make a choice of exceptional importance’
‘This is a human act for which every personal consideration must be set aside, keeping in mind and heart only the God of Jesus Christ and the good of the Church and of humanity.’
The pontiff – believed to be someone called to be the successor to St Peter, who was the first pope – will need to be a person who can ‘awaken the consciences of all and the moral and spiritual energies in today’s society, characterised by great technological progress but which tends to forget God’, Cardinal Battista Re added.
He said a new pope must foster a sense of communion – “communion of all Christians with Christ; communion of the Bishops with the Pope; communion of the Bishops among themselves”.
He added: “This is not a self-referential communion, but one that is entirely directed towards communion among persons, peoples and cultures, with a concern that the Church should always be a ‘home and school of communion’.”
He said there is a “strong call to maintain the unity of the Church” although this is “a unity that does not mean uniformity, but a firm and profound communion in diversity, provided that full fidelity to the Gospel is maintained”.
Following a centuries-old tradition, cardinals are cut off from all communications with the outside world while they take part in the anonymous voting process.
Cardinal Battista Re said the late Pope John Paul II had once expressed the hope that ‘during the hours of voting on this weighty decision, Michelangelo’s looming image of Jesus the Judge would remind everyone of the greatness of the responsibility of placing the ‘supreme keys’ (Dante) in the correct hands’.
The diversity of the electors has been a talking point as the conclave approached.
Francis named 108 of the 133 ‘princes of the church,’ choosing many pastors in his image from far-flung countries like Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga that had never had a cardinal before.
His decision to surpass the usual limit of 120 cardinal electors and include younger ones from the ‘global south’ – those often marginalized countries with lower economic clout – has injected an unusual degree of uncertainty in a process that is always full of mystery and suspense.
