TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The conclave for the selection of the new Pope to replace Pope Francis started on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 10:00 AM Vatican time in Rome. Cardinals from various countries gathered at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican to initiate the selection process following the death of Pope Francis on Monday, April 21.
Reported by Antara, the conclave began with a Holy Mass attended by the College of Cardinals, as a form of prayer and request for guidance from the Holy Spirit in selecting a new leader for the Catholic Church. A total of 133 cardinals have voting rights in this conclave, a number higher than the 115 cardinals who participated in the 2005 and 2013 conclaves.
The cardinal electors participating in the conclave at the Sistine Chapel will reside at Casa Santa Marta during the course of the selection process. After all the cardinals have entered the conclave room, the Master of Papal Liturgical Ceremonies will utter, 'Extra Omnes!' and then the chapel door will be locked.
Extra Omnes is a phrase in Latin that means everyone out or everyone outside. This is the command given by the Master of Papal Liturgical Ceremonies to mark the beginning of the papal conclave, when the cardinals are locked inside the Sistine Chapel to choose a new Pope.
How long does a conclave last?
Citing Vatican News, the duration of a conclave varies. In history, a conclave can be very short, lasting only a few hours, or dragging on for days, even years.
The conclave was formalized in 1274 by Pope Gregory X in the Constitution Ubi Periculum which stipulated that in future elections, the cardinals must be secluded in isolation, both from within and outside. This was to allow them to focus on their task of choosing the next head of the Catholic Church without any political or personal interference.
This was done after the conclave that elected Pope Gregory X dragged on for more than two years. However, since then, papal conclaves have continued to have varying durations. Some conclaves end in just a few hours, while others can still last for years.
It takes a two-thirds majority vote to meet the requirement of electing a new pope. If no Pope is elected, black smoke will emerge from the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating that the papal election is still ongoing until a new Pope is chosen.
Meanwhile, the success of electing a Pope will be marked by the emergence of white smoke from the chapel chimney. Usually, the newly elected Pope will appear on the balcony to greet the crowd at St. Peter's Square within an hour after the smoke billows from the Sistine Chapel chimney.
The longest papal election in history is that of Gregory X, which took two years and two months. On the other hand, there was an election in 1503 that lasted only a few hours and resulted in the election of Pope Julius II.
Meanwhile, the duration of the late Pope Francis' conclave was relatively short. He was elected on March 13, 2013 after only five rounds in less than two days.
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