The world is mourning the death of Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who passed away at the age of 88 years during Easter Monday.
Francis was the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church and served since 2013. He assumed office following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, who cited health issues. Benedict on the other hand succeeded Pope John Paul II in 2005.
If a pope dies or resigns, the procedure of finding his replacement begins between 15-20 days after his death or resignation. The period allows time for Cardinals from all over the world to converge at the Vatican.
Who is fit to become pope?
Any male, who has been baptised in the Catholic Church is eligible to become Pope. He can be an ordained deacon, priest, or bishop. However, since 1378, only those who are Cardinals have been elected to the position.
If a non-bishop is elected, he is immediately ordained to become bishop. To become a bishop, one must have served as priest for at least 5 years and not under the age of 35.
Other qualities considered include; humility, zeal for the Catholic faith, and the promotion of goodness.
The Pope election
Candidates for the top position are selected and then elected by Cardinals(These are ordained bishops and make up the church’s senior most officials.) Cardinals eligible to vote, according to rules introduced in 1975, should not be over 80 years old.
Currently, the Catholic church has a total of 252 cardinals worldwide. Out of them, 138 are eligible to vote. For the replacement process to begin, the Cardinals will be summoned to the Vatican, where they will be confined until a new Pope is found. At the Vatican, they are not allowed to be in any contact with outside world. The process is discreet such that no phones or any kind of media is allowed. Anyone who breaches this faces excommunication from the Catholic Church. Initially, the process took weeks or months but in the recent times, it has only been a matter of days.
The candidates could be selected either among cardinals or within the Catholic Church. Cardinals then vote by writing the names of their preferred candidates on the ballot papers, which are then placed in the urn. They are not allowed to vote for themselves. The voting takes place at the Sistine Chapel.
In the elections, the winner must garner at least two thirds of the total votes cast by cardinals.
If a person receives two-thirds of the votes, they become Pope. If nobody achieves the required majority, more rounds of voting are done until one of the candidates gets the two thirds of the votes.
Once voting is concluded, the ballot papers are burnt after each round of voting together with chemicals that produce different colours of smoke through the Vatican’s rooftop. If the smoke is black, it means that the Pope is yet to be found. If the ballot papers are burnt and produce white smoke, the decision has been made.
Shortly afterwards, the new Pope will appear in the balcony overlooking the St. Peters Square. The new Pope will be introduced by the Papal name that he has chosen for himself.
Potential candidates for the position
There are several candidates who have been predicted as the possible replacement of Pope Francis. They include;
Matteo Zuppi, 69, (Italy), Robert Sara aged 79 from Guinea, Pierbattista Pizzaballa aged 60 form Italy and 59-year old José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça from Portugal.
Others are Péter Erdő, 72, from Hungary, Ghana’s Peter Turkson who is aged 76, Luis Antonio Tagle, 67, from the Philippines , Pietro Parolin, 70(Italy), and Mario Grech, 68, from Malta.
