CONCLAVE: NOTES FROM RECENT CENTURIES

Vatican City, 11 March 2013 (VIS) – Following is a brief chronology of Conclaves in recent centuries along with interesting facts that occurred during each.

In the entire history of the Church, the longest papal election—taking place in Viterbo, Italy in 1268 and ending with the election of Gregory X—lasted for two years. It was as a result of this instance that the modern incarnation of the papal Conclave was instituted.

In modern history, the longest Conclave was that of 1740, which ended with the election of Benedict XIV. It lasted from 18 February until 17 August, 181 days. Fifty-one cardinals participated in the final ballot, four cardinals having died during the proceedings.

In 1758, the Conclave that elected Clement XIII lasted from 15 May until 6 July, 53 days. Forty-five cardinals participated, but one was absent at the final ballot, having left the Conclave because of illness.

In 1769, Clement XIV was elected after 94 days, from 15 February until 19 May. Forty-six cardinals participated in the vote.

Beginning in 1774, the Conclave that elected Pius VI lasted 133 days, from 5 October of that year until 15 February 1775. Forty-six cardinals entered in the Conclave but two of them died during the proceedings.

The Conclave that elected Pius VII took place in Venice, since Rome was under occupation by Napoleon’s troops. It lasted from 1 December 1799 until 14 March 1800, 105 days. It was the last Conclave held outside of Rome and 34 cardinals participated.

In 1823, Leo XII was elected after 27 days, 2 September until 28 September, and 49 cardinals participated.

In 1829, the Conclave that elected Pius VIII lasted 36 days, 24 February until 31 March, and 50 cardinals participated.

At the Conclave that began in 1831, the last cardinal not to be bishop was elected Pope, Gregory XVI. The Conclave that elected him lasted 51 days, from 14 December 1830 until 2 February of the following year and 45 cardinals participated.

“Short” Conclaves began to take place from 1846, with the election of Blessed Pius IX. Fifty cardinals elected him Pope in a conclave lasting three days, from 14 to 16 June of that year.

After the longest papal reign, which lasted more than thirty years, the following Conclave also lasted three days, from 18 to 20 February in 1878. Sixty-one cardinals participated in the vote to elect Leo XIII. It's interesting to note that, as his reign was the third longest in papal history, lasting over 25 years, only four of the cardinals that elected him participated in another Conclave. Another interesting fact from this Conclave is that the first American to be created cardinal, Cardinal John McCloskey, archbishop of New York, would have been the first non-European to take part in a papal election but he arrived too late to participate. That honour was to go to Cardinal James Gibbons, archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland at the next Conclave.

In 1903 St. Pius X was elected Pope by 64 cardinals in a Conclave that lasted five days, from 31 July until 4 August, and had 7 ballots. It was the last time that the “Jus Exclusivae” (“right of exclusion” or right to veto a candidate for the papacy claimed by the Catholic monarchs of Europe) was exercised. The Italian Cardinal Mariano Rampolla was vetoed by Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary. After his election, St. Pius X abolished the right of heads of state to exercise a veto.

In 1914, the Conclave that elected Benedict XV lasted four days, from 31 August until 3 September. The 57 participating cardinals had 10 ballots. Three North American Cardinals were locked out of the Sistine Chapel, having arrived too late to enter but it was the first time that a Latin American cardinal participated, Cardinal Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti, archbishop of Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In 1922, during the Conclave that elected Pius XI, 53 cardinals held 7 ballots over five days, from 2 to 6 February. Two American and one Canadian cardinal were again left out of the Conclave for having arrived too late. After his election, Pius XI established a period of 15 days from the beginning of the Sede Vacante to entering into Conclave in order to allow cardinals enough time to travel to Rome.

In the 1939 Conclave that elected Pius XII, the first patriarch of an Eastern rite participated in the election: His Beatitude Mar Ignatius Gabriel I Tappouni, patriarch of Antioch and all the East of the Syrians. The Conclave, the shortest of the twentieth century, lasted just two days, from 1 to 2 March. The 62 cardinals held 3 ballots.

In the Conclave of 1958 that elected Blessed John XXIII, cardinals from China, India, and Africa participated for the first time. The Conclave lasted four days, from 25 to 28 October and the 51 cardinals held 11 ballots.

In 1963, the Conclave lasted three days, from 19 to 21 June. The 80 cardinals elected Paul VI after 11 ballots.

In 1978, the Conclave that elected John Paul I was the first in which cardinals over the age of 80 did not participate. The Conclave lasted two days, 25 to 26 August. The 111 Cardinal electors held four ballots.

In the second Conclave celebrated that year—the reign of John Paul I lasting just 33 days, resulting in the most recent “Year of Three Popes”—Blessed John Paul II was elected by the same 111 Cardinal electors after eight ballots held over three days 14 to 16 October.

In 2005, Benedict XVI was elected Pope in the fourth ballot of the Conclave that lasted two days, from 18 to 19 April. The largest number of Cardinal electors ever took part in that election: 115.

The Conclave that begins tomorrow morning, 12 March 2013, will be the first one since 1829 to be held during Lent. One hundred fifteen Cardinal electors will participate.

CARDINALS PREPARE FOR IMMINENT CONCLAVE

Vatican City, 9 March 2013 (VIS) – “The first order of business of the eighth General Congregation, which met yesterday evening and in which 145 cardinals participated, was to vote on the date to begin the Conclave. Cardinal Dean Angelo Sodano, expressing the wishes of all and after having consulted with the Cardinal Carmelengo Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., regarding the preparations at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, proposed the date of Tuesday, 12 March. The overwhelming majority immediately voted in agreement,” reported Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office. “There was no difference of opinion between the cardinals and the percentage of votes in favour of to those against was around 10 to one. Moreover,” Fr. Lombardi added, “the full complement of Cardinal electors was already reached and it was no longer considered necessary to wait further, as they already had time to reflect on their decision.”

Fifteen cardinals intervened during the course of the Congregation and two newly arrived cardinals were sworn in, neither of which is a Cardinal elector: Cardinal Miguel Obando Bravo, S.D.B., archbishop emeritus of Managua, Nicaragua, and Cardinal Gaudencio Borbon Rosales, archbishop emeritus of Manila, Philippines.

During the ninth General Congregation that met this morning, the cardinals spoke about moving into the Domus Sanctae Marthae, which will be their residence for the duration of the Conclave. “It was agreed by majority that the move will take place on Tuesday morning, beginning from 7:00am, that is, the same day that the Conclave begins. A “Pro eligendo Romano Pontifice” Mass will be celebrated by the Cardinal Dean at 10:00am that morning in St. Peter's Square. Rooms were also assigned, by lot.”

“This morning 17 cardinals intervened, speaking on the same general themes that have been previously reported, including: expectations regarding the new Pope, activities of the Holy See and its Dicasteries, and improving the Curia. In total, there have been 133 interventions in the General Congregations and, keeping in mind those scheduled for Monday, that number will probably reach 150.”

At the end of the press conference, the schedule for the sessions of the Conclave was presented. On Tuesday at 3:45pm, the cardinals will move from the Domus Sanctae Marthae to the Pauline Chapel in the Apostolic Palace. At 4:30pm, the cardinals will process from the Pauline Chapel to the Sistine Chapel and, after they have all taken the oath, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations will give the order “Extra omnes” for all those not taking part in the Conclave to leave the Sistine Chapel. The cardinals will listen to a meditation given by Cardinal Grech, concerning the grave duty incumbent on them and thus on the need to act with right intention for the good of the Universal Church, after which they will proceed to the first vote. At 7:00pm they will pray Vespers and, at 7:30pm, will return to the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Beginning on Wednesday, 13 March, the cardinals will move from the Domus Sanctae Marthae to the Pauline Chapel at 7:45am where, at 8:15am, they will celebrate Mass. At 9:30am they will enter the Sistine Chapel, pray the Liturgy of the Hours, and proceed to the voting process. Around 12:00pm they will return to the Domus Sanctae Marthae and, after lunch there, will go back to the Sistine Chapel at 4:00pm where they will pray briefly and resume the voting procedure until 7:00pm.

This coming Monday, 11 March, all the auxiliary personnel needed to ensure the smooth operations of the Conclave will take the oath of secrecy and those images will be broadcast by Vatican Television.

Since there are two votes each morning and afternoon, Fr. Lombardi stated that the 'fumata' (smoke signalling the election or non-election of a pontiff) that is produced from the burning of the ballots from those two voting processes could be expected around 12:00pm, in the case of the morning, or 7:00pm, in the case of the evening, unless the first of the two votes produces an election. In such an instance, the “fumata” would obviously take place earlier.

The Director of the Holy See Press Office also recalled the procedure in the case that a pontiff is not elected in the first four days of voting. In such an instance the cardinals will take a pause on the fifth day in order to pray, speak freely among themselves, and listen to a brief exhortation given by the senior cardinal in the Order of Deacons. The scrutinies will proceed in a similar fashion—two days of voting with every third day taken to pause for prayer—until the 34th vote on the afternoon of the eleventh day. In such an event, No. 75 of the Apostolic Constitution "Universi Dominici Gregis" modified by Benedict XVI's recent "Motu Proprio" would apply, which states: “If the balloting mentioned in Nos. 72, 73, and 74 of the aforementioned Constitution does not result in an election, one day shall be dedicated to prayer, reflection and dialogue; in the successive balloting, observing the order established in No. 74 of the same Constitution, only the two names which received the greatest number of votes in the previous scrutiny, will have passive voice. There can be no waiving of the requirement that, in these ballots too, for a valid election to take place there must be a clear majority of at least two thirds of the votes of the Cardinals present and voting. In these ballots the two names having passive voice do not have active voice.” That is, the two candidates with the greatest number of votes will be voted for and cannot themselves cast a vote.

Fr. Lombardi reported that the commission that, under the direction of the Camerlengo, is responsible for sealing the entrances to the areas of the Conclave and carrying out the other operations necessary for the safeguarding of the Conclave was established. It is led by the Cardinal Camerlengo and among its members are the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, the Commandant of the Swiss Guards, members of the Gendarmerie, and notaries.

Finally he reported that the Pope's Fisherman's Ring—which exists in two forms, the ring itself and as a stamp used to seal documents—as well as two stamps—a larger and a smaller one—and the master lead seal of the pontificate were all destroyed, the images scratched out in the form of a cross to render them useless. The next Pope's ring will bear the same image of Peter casting his net but, naturally, will have the new pontiff's name inscribed above the image.

It was also communicated that tomorrow, Sunday, 10 March, various cardinals will celebrate Mass at their titular churches, inviting the faithful to pray for the Church and for the election of the new pontiff.

CHIMNEY INSTALLED ON ROOF OF SISTINE CHAPEL TODAY

Vatican City, 9 March 2013 (VIS) – The chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, which will emit the smoke to indicate the election (white smoke) or non-election (black smoke) of a pope, was installed this morning, three days before the Conclave is scheduled to begin. That, however, is not the only change taking place in the chapel. Vatican Television is recording the preparations and those images are then distributed to all media outlets that request it for broadcasting around the world.

Work began on Tuesday, 5 March, at 1:00pm when restorers, electricians, mechanics, carpenters, seamstresses, assemblers, electronic technicians and other labourers from various areas of competence suddenly replaced the hundreds of tourists who visit the Sistine Chapel every day. “The Chapel is closed to the public. We are preparing for the Conclave,” employees respond to the questions asked by perplexed visitors who are trying to finish their tour of the Vatican Museums with a glimpse of Michelangelo's “Creation of Adam”.

Journalists are already in the know. The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., has been holding daily press conferences, giving a general overview of the proceedings of the General Congregations and explaining the images of the preparations that are being carried out around Vatican City. From within the Sistine Chapel we see scaffolding around the stoves that will burn the ballots to erect the stove pipe that releases the smoke from the roof of the chapel, shorter tubing for the scaffolding that will elevate the floor and create a uniform area to work on, lengths of cloth and the seamstresses sowing them together to create table covers...

On Wednesday, 6 March, for example, Vatican Television provided raw video of workers installing a large platform for the chimney and flooring sheets over the original mosaic pavement, both to protect the mosaics and to make it easier to build the elevated floor above it, which will provide the cardinals with an even expanse to walk and work upon.

Around the altar, 115 cherry wood chairs have been put in place, each engraved with the name of the cardinal who will occupy it, with 12 wooden tables covered in beige and bordeaux fabric where the cardinals will prepare their ballots. They will cast their votes in front of Michelangelo's fresco of “The Last Judgment” on the wall of the altar.

After the chimney is installed it will be submitted to a series of tests using chemicals to emit a yellow smoke so as not to confuse the increased number of passers-by in St. Peter's Square. The chimney is just the last piece of the mechanism that will produce the smoke. The two iron stoves it is attached to were installed yesterday. The first stove, cast in 1938, has the dates of the five Conclaves it has been used in etched upon it—from the one electing Pius XII in 1939 until the latest, in 2005, when Cardinal Ratzinger became Benedict XVI.

This older oven is used to burn the balloting papers. The modern one, equipped with an electronic device, will add the chemicals to produce the black or white smoke indicating the result of the voting until the election occurs. There are two voting sessions planned for each morning and each afternoon that the Conclave continues. At the moment, the chimney is at the centre of the media's curiosity. Next Tuesday afternoon it will hold the attention of millions around the world.

Besides the Cardinal electors, the only others who will be present in the Sistine Chapel are the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations and Cardinal Prospero Grech, O.S.A., who will preach the second meditation provided for in No. 13 of the Apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis” to the Cardinal electors.

CONCLAVE TO BEGIN NEXT TUESDAY, 12 MARCH

Vatican City, 8 March 2013 (VIS) – The eighth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals has decided that the Conclave will begin on Tuesday, 12 March 2013. A “pro eligendo Romano Pontifice” Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica that morning. In the afternoon, the cardinals will enter into the Conclave.

EIGHTH GENERAL CONGREGATION THIS EVENING WILL VOTE ON DATE OF CONCLAVE

Vatican City, 8 March 2013 (VIS) - “The eighth General Congregation that will meet this evening will vote on the date to begin the Conclave”, Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, announced. “It is likely,” he clarified, “that the Conclave will begin early next week: perhaps Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. It definitely will not be tomorrow or Sunday. Tomorrow a General Congregation will only take place in the morning and on Sunday it is expected that the cardinals will visit their titular churches in the city to pray. They are under no obligation to do so, but it is likely that they will.”

Before beginning the press conference, Fr. Lombardi noted that today is International Women's Day and offered a bouquet of mimosas with a rose to a female journalist in representation of all women in keeping with the custom in the Vatican to give flowers to the women who work in the Holy See today.

Continuing, Fr. Lombardi reported on the sixth General Congregation, which took place yesterday evening from 5:00pm until 7:00pm and was attended by 151 cardinals. Two newly arrived cardinals swore the oath: Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, metropolitan archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (Cardinal elector) and Cardinal Adam Joseph Maida, archbishop emeritus of Detroit, Michigan, USA (non elector). The entire complement of 115 Cardinal electors who were expected has thus arrived. During the course of the Congregation 16 interventions were given.

In the seventh General Congregation this morning, 153 cardinals were present and, as there were no other new arrivals, no new oaths were sworn. All 115 expected Cardinal electors were present. The first act of the Congregation dealt with No. 38 of the Apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis”, which states that the College of Cardinals must recognize the reasons for the absence of cardinals who will not be participating in the Conclave. “In this case there are two absences: Cardinal Julius Riyadi Darmaatmadja, S.J., archbishop emeritus of Jakarta, Indonesia, for health reasons and Cardinal Keith O’Brien, ex-archbishop of Edinburgh, Scotland, for personal reasons. The College voted to accept the absences for the reasons presented.”

The next order of business was Cardinal Dean Angelo Sodano's presentation of No. 37 of the Apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis”, recently modified by Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio, which now reads: “I furthermore decree that, from the moment when the Apostolic See is lawfully vacant, fifteen full days must elapse before the Conclave begins, in order to await those who are absent; nonetheless, the College of Cardinals is granted the faculty to move forward the start of the Conclave if it is clear that all the Cardinal electors are present; they can also defer, for serious reasons, the beginning of the election for a few days more. But when a maximum of twenty days have elapsed from the beginning of the vacancy of the See, all the Cardinal electors present are obliged to proceed to the election.”

“Since all the expected Cardinal electors are now present”, Fr. Lombardi said, “the College can now prepare to decide the date of the Conclave, including whether to move the date up from 15 days after the beginning of the period of the Sede Vacante.”

“The cardinals also commented on the Adopt-a-Cardinal prayer initiative that is being promoted on the web, which over 220,000 people have already subscribed to.” In signing up, participants are assigned, at random, a cardinal for whom they can pray during these days.

During this morning's seventh General Congregation, there were 18 interventions on issues including: interreligious dialogue, contemporary culture, bioethics, justice in the world, the importance of the Church proclaiming a positive message of love and mercy, and collegiality. The role of women in the Church was also discussed. Since most of the cardinals have only spoken once, over a hundred cardinals have intervened and still others are signed up to address the gathering in the coming Congregations.

Fr. Lombardi also mentioned the Domus Santa Martha, which will be the residence of the cardinals during the Conclave, explaining that the cardinals' rooms are assigned by lot drawn during the Congregations. “No cardinal chooses who will be his neighbour nor which room they would prefer. He noted that the newly elected Pontiff will also remain for a short period at the “Domus” while the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace are unsealed and renovated.

In another vein, he commented that the Holy See “is vacant but does not stop”, meaning that the Vatican's various dicasteries continue with their normal activities under the direction of their various department heads. He also provided the name of the preacher who will give the following meditation to the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Prospero Grech, O.S.A.

Responding to previous questions regarding the preparations of the floor of the Sistine Chapel for the Conclave, the director of the Holy See Press Office clarified that “the elevation of the floor serves to render a uniform working space, covering the uneven pavement and the steps” that are around the altar and along the left wall of the chapel.