What is a Papal conclave? How will the next pope be chosen?

The conclave to elect the new pope and successor to Francis will begin on May 7, 2025. 133 cardinals will meet secretly in the Sistine Chapel starting at 4:30 p.m. Vatican time and continue voting until one of them obtains a two-thirds majority and becomes the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

Following the death of Pope Francis, the 133 Catholic cardinals who will vote to elect his successor are already in Rome ahead of the conclave that begins this week, the Vatican announced Monday.

There are currently 135 cardinals under the age of 80 eligible to vote in the conclave, from 71 different countries, making it the most geographically diverse conclave in history. Two of them have already formally informed the Holy See that they cannot attend for health reasons, reducing the number of men who will enter the Sistine Chapel to 133.

The congregation, called a Conclave and held behind closed doors, is about to begin under strict measures to ensure the isolation of the cardinals who will be responsible for electing the next Pope after Francis's death. Among these measures, the Vatican recently announced that it will disable mobile phone coverage throughout its territory and confiscate the phones of the 133 participating religious leaders.

In recent hours, the Governorate of Vatican City State informed all its residents and employees that it will "deactivate all cellular and radio telecommunications signal transmission facilities." The deactivation will affect the entire territory of Vatican City State, 0.4 square kilometers in the center of Rome, and will begin at 3:00 p.m. (local time) on May 7.

The decision was made to ensure the "security of activities leading up to the election of the Supreme Pontiff," and, in fact, the signal will not return until a new Pope is appointed.

To avoid interference, the conclave must be held in complete secrecy and discretion, and the cardinals cannot reveal what was discussed in the closed-door meetings, nor can they leave the Vatican or communicate with anyone outside the process.

This doesn't mean that the news of who will be the new leader of the Catholic Church will be announced that same day, but rather simply marks the beginning of the meetings and voting, which will be announced to the public later through the famous white or black smoke.

What is the Vatican Conclave?

The conclave is the meeting held by the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church to elect a new pope (also known as the Supreme Pontiff or Roman Pontiff), who is the Bishop of Rome and carries with him the office of sovereign of the Vatican City State. It is the solemn assembly where cardinals under 80 years of age lock themselves in the Sistine Chapel to elect the new pope. Under oath of secrecy, they vote until they reach at least two-thirds of the votes.

Who votes in the Vatican Conclave?

133 cardinals are participating in this election, and around 80% were appointed directly by Pope Francis. The 2025 Conclave will be the most diverse in history, and experts say this increases the likelihood that the next Pope will share their vision of a progressive and more inclusive Church.

Europe remains the continent with the largest representation, with 53 voting cardinals. However, one of the European electors, originally from Spain, has already announced that he will not participate in the conclave, so 52 Europeans are expected to be present in the Sistine Chapel.

Twenty-three cardinals came from Asia, including the Middle East, a figure that reflects the growing importance of this region in global ecclesial life. Africa, for its part, has 18 representatives, although one of them, from Kenya, also announced his withdrawal, reducing the number of African electors to 17.

South America is represented by 17 cardinals, including several with distinguished careers in their communities. North America has 16 electors: 10 from the United States, 4 from Canada, and 2 from Mexico, demonstrating a strong presence from the northern hemisphere in these key elections.

Central America has a more limited participation, with four cardinals in total, while from the farthest reaches of the globe, Oceania is represented by another four: one from Australia, one from New Zealand, one from Papua New Guinea, and one from Tonga.

What is the voting like?

The first thing that is done is to request the presence of all the cardinals at a Mass, where they sing "Veni Creator" in the Pauline Chapel to invoke the Holy Spirit for the election. They then meet behind closed doors in the Sistine Chapel and cast four votes a day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, until one candidate obtains two-thirds of the votes. This can take several days.

How is the announcement made in each round of voting?

After each round of voting, the ballots are burned in a special oven. If no consensus is reached, a chemical mixture is added that produces black smoke, indicating that no decision has been made. When a candidate obtains at least two-thirds of the votes (89 out of 133 in the current conclave), white smoke is generated by burning a mixture of potassium chlorate, lactose and rosin, indicating that a new Pope has been elected.