Electing Pope Francis' Successor: Step-By-Step Voting Process Decoded

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What really happens behind the closed doors of the Vatican when the world’s cardinals gather to elect a new pope? In this detailed explainer, we break down every step of the highly secretive papal conclave-from the cardinals’ preparations and strict isolation, to the centuries-old voting rituals inside the Sistine Chapel, and the dramatic moment when white smoke signals a new leader for the Catholic Church. WATCH.

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Transcript

00:00During the upcoming papal conclave, cardinals will gather in the Sistine Chapel to elect a

00:08successor to Pope Francis in a highly secretive process that could take several days, potentially

00:14longer. Here is a step-by-step breakdown of the process. There will be 133 cardinal electors,

00:28those aged under 80, after two withdrew for health reasons. Ahead of the conclave, they will move into

00:35the Santa Marta guest house inside the Vatican, where they will stay for the duration, wowing

00:41not to communicate with the outside world, record proceedings or reveal its secrets on pain of

00:48excommunication. On 7 May 2025, the day the conclave begins, the cardinal electors take

01:02part in a morning mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

01:13Each wearing their scarlet cassock, white rochette, scarlet musetta, a pectoral cross with red

01:19and gold, called and ring, the cardinals then gather in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic

01:24Palace at 4.15 p.m. and invoke the assistance of the Holy Spirit to make their choice.

01:37They proceed at 4.30 p.m. to the Sistine Chapel, where the election will be held and which will

01:42have been swept for secret recording devices. The cardinal electors take an oath promising

01:54that if elected they will conduct the role faithfully and again, wowing secrecy. The master

02:02of ceremonies gives the order extra ominous that is everybody out and all those not permitted

02:08to vote leave the Sistine Chapel. The masters of ceremonies distribute ballots to the cardinal

02:20electors. Lots are drawn to select three to serve as a scrutineers, three infirmary to collect the

02:26votes of cardinals who fall ill and three revisers who check the ballot counting by the scrutineers.

02:33Cardinals are given rectangular ballots inscribed at the top with the words,

02:37Illigo Insumum Pontificum. That means, I elect as Supreme Pontiff and a black space underneath.

02:51Electors write down the name of their choice for future Pope, preferably in handwriting which

02:56cannot be identified as their own and fold the ballot paper twice. Each cardinal takes turns to walk

03:03to the altar, carrying his vote in the ear so that it can be seen clearly and says aloud the following

03:10oath. I call as my witness Christ the Lord, who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one

03:17who before God I think should be elected.

03:20The electors then place their folded paper on a plate which is used to tip the ballots into a silver urn

03:33on the altar in front of scrutineers. They then bow and return to their seats. Those cardinals who are

03:40unable to walk to the altar hand their vote to a scrutineer who drops it in the urn for them.

03:45If there are cardinals who are too sick to vote, the infirmary collect their ballot papers from their

03:52bedsides and may even write the name of the candidate for them, if necessary, in a special

03:58locked urn and bring them back to the chapel.

04:06Once all ballots are collected, scrutineers shake the urn to mix the votes up, transfer them into a

04:13second container to check there are the same number of ballots as electors and begin counting them.

04:20Two scrutineers note down the names while a third reads them aloud, piercing the ballots with a needle

04:26through the word illegal and stringing them together. The revisers then double-check that

04:32the scrutineers have not made any mistakes.

04:35If no one has secured two-thirds of the votes, there is no winner and the electors move straight

04:46on to a second round. There are two pairs of votes per day, morning and afternoon, until

04:52a new pope has been elected.

04:54The ballots and any handwritten notes made by the cardinals are then destroyed, burnt in

05:06a stove in the chapel, which emits black smoke if no pope has been elected, and white smoke

05:12if the Catholic world has a new pontiff. The smoke is turned black or white through the addition

05:18of chemicals.

05:24If voting continues for three days without a winner, there is a day of prayer, reflection and dialogue.

05:30If after another seven ballots, there is no winner, there is another day of pause.

05:35If the cardinals reach a fourth pause with no result, they can agree to vote only on the two

05:41most popular candidates, with the winner requiring a clear majority.

05:51When a cardinal is elected pope, the masters of ceremonies and other non-electors are brought

05:57back into the Sistine Chapel and the cardinal dean asks the winner, do you accept your canonical

06:03election as supreme pontiff? As soon as he gives his consent, he becomes pope.

Electing Pope Francis' Successor: Step-By-Step Voting Process Decoded

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