Pope Francis died on April 21 at the age of 88 and has been placed in the Pope Cathedral of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Rome. Now, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church began voting on Wednesday to elect a successor to a congress called Consave. Only cardinals under the age of 80 can vote in the pope election. Although the age requirement for 135 cardinals is not over 80 and therefore eligible to vote, the two quit the vote for health reasons, so 133 people will vote.
Thanks to the Hollywood feature film Cendave, the term is now a familiar term for many non-Catholics, the film was released in 2024 and is available for viewing streaming services.
Read more: Where to watch Vatican thriller, Vatican thriller about election of the new pope
How to follow the meeting
There is no way to watch the real Pope because it is conducted within the walls of the Sistine Church and is private. Although entertaining and carefully browsed, the film is a fictional version. But the main news network will introduce any news about the event.
Perhaps the most interesting way to do this is to tweak the Vatican’s own YouTube channel, which is streaming live webcams in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square, a large public square outside the Vatican building.
The news network is also following innovative ways of meetings for people. NBC News offers a smoke cam, a webcam focused on the chimney of the Sistine Church, where White Smoke will eventually choose the Pope.
CNN created a 3D visualization to achieve the appearance of the meeting.
USA Today has set up a YouTube channel to be held for meetings from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
CBS will air a special report on the meeting anchored by Norah O’Donnell and Tony Dokoupil starting Wednesday at 10:30 ET.
Who is the competitor?
Several cardinals are considered potentially powerful candidates for the Pope. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Italy is known for his diplomatic efforts and his aligning with Pope Francis’ vision. The Philippines cardinal Luis Tagle is also an outstanding figure who is recognized for his advocacy of social justice and poverty alleviation. Ghana’s Cardinal Peter Turkson is being discussed, the first African pope in modern times.
Looking for White Smoke
After the Cardinal vote and its votes are calculated, the vote is burned and, if there is no majority, chemicals are added to the flame to produce black smoke. Select the Pope and add chemicals to the flame to produce white smoke. The crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square to observe the results.
In the movie, Ralph Fiennes plays Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, who leads the election of the next pope while investigating rumors about potential candidates. The film is based on Robert Harris’ 2016 novel and is fictional, although it does represent some of the events of the true Pope’s conclusion. In March, the film won the Oscar for Best Screenplay Adaptation.
Voting as long as you need
Two-thirds of the cardinals vote must elect the next pope. The conclusions happened behind closed doors and the voting statistics were never made public.
The conclusion can take several days or even weeks to come to a conclusion. Although in the 13th century it was reported that it took three years to choose the Pope, modern conclusions were much shorter. Pope Francis was elected in 2013 on the fifth vote on the second day of the meeting.
There are only two rounds of votes a day, and candidates need two-thirds of the votes and one election. CBS News reported that if the number is not reached three days after the vote, the process is paused so the cardinals can pray and discuss their choices.
No, Trump won’t be the pope
Anyone who is a baptized Catholic can technically select the Pope, but in fact, the next Pope is selected from the Cardinal College. The Cardinal was a senior member of the clergy and was chosen by the Pope as his advisor.
A few days before Pope Francis’ funeral, U.S. President Donald Trump clearly told reporters: “I want to be a pope.” But as a non-Catholic, Trump is not qualified to be a pope.
Trump shared his AI-generated image as the pope on his Truth social media website last week. The official White House account reposted the image. Many people didn’t find the image interesting.
“We just bury our beloved Pope Francis, and the Cardinal will enter a solemn meeting to elect St. Peter’s new successor,” the New York State Catholic Council wrote on X.
Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, wrote on X that he agreed with Trump’s image as a pope. Vance did not raise Catholics, but was baptized in 2019. “As a general rule, I tell jokes very well,” Vance wrote.
