Pope

== Election, death and resignation ==
=== Election ===
{{Main|Papal conclave}}
[[File:Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter by Pietro Perugino.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Delivery of the Keys (Perugino)|Delivery of the Keys]]'' painted by [[Pietro Perugino]] (1492)]]
The pope was originally chosen by those senior clergymen resident in and near Rome. In 1059, the electorate was restricted to the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, and the individual votes of all cardinal electors were made equal in 1179. The electors are now limited to those who have not reached 80 on the day before the death or resignation of a pope.{{sfn|John Paul II|1996|p=Introduction}} The pope does not need to be a cardinal elector or indeed a cardinal; since the pope is the bishop of Rome, only those who can be ordained a bishop can be elected, which means that any male baptized Catholic is eligible. The last to be elected when not yet a bishop was [[Gregory XVI]] in 1831, the last to be elected when not even a priest was [[Leo X]] in 1513, and the last to be elected when not a cardinal was [[Urban VI]] in 1378.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://religionnews.com/2013/03/03/everything-you-need-to-know-about-popes-and-conclaves/|title=Popes and conclaves: everything you need to know|date=3 March 2013|access-date=17 January 2017|archive-date=15 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715213743/http://religionnews.com/2013/03/03/everything-you-need-to-know-about-popes-and-conclaves/|url-status=live}}</ref> If someone who is not a bishop is elected, he must be given episcopal ordination before the election is announced to the people.{{sfn|John Paul II|1996|pp=88–89}}

The [[Second Council of Lyon]] was convened on 7 May 1274, to regulate the election of the pope. This Council decreed that the cardinal electors must meet within ten days of the pope's death, and that they must remain in seclusion until a pope has been elected; this was prompted by the three-year ''[[sede vacante]]'' following the death of [[Clement IV]] in 1268. By the mid-16th century, the electoral process had evolved into its present form, allowing for variation in the time between the death of the pope and the meeting of the cardinal electors.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kelly |first=Joseph Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLrn2Nx-g2YC&q=lyons+ii |title=The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church: A History |date=2009 |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=978-0-8146-5376-0 |page=96 |language=en |access-date=9 May 2023 |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816180825/https://books.google.com/books?id=jLrn2Nx-g2YC&q=lyons+ii |url-status=live }}</ref> Traditionally, the vote was conducted by [[acclamation (Papal elections)|acclamation]], by selection (by committee), or by plenary vote. Acclamation was the simplest procedure, consisting entirely of a voice vote.

[[File:Konklave Konzilsgebaude Konstanz.jpg|thumb|left|The conclave in [[Konstanz]] where [[Pope Martin V]] was elected]]
The election of the pope almost always takes place in the [[Sistine Chapel]], in a sequestered meeting called a "[[Papal conclave|conclave]]" (so called because the cardinal electors are theoretically locked in, ''cum clave'', i.e., with key, until they elect a new pope). Three cardinals are chosen by lot to collect the votes of absent cardinal electors (by reason of illness), three are chosen by lot to count the votes, and three are chosen by lot to review the count of the votes. The ballots are distributed and each cardinal elector writes the name of his choice on it and pledges aloud that he is voting for "one whom under God I think ought to be elected" before folding and depositing his vote on a plate atop a large chalice placed on the altar. For the [[Papal conclave, 2005]], a special urn was used for this purpose instead of a chalice and plate. The plate is then used to drop the ballot into the chalice, making it difficult for electors to insert multiple ballots. Before being read, the ballots are counted while still folded; if the number of ballots does not match the number of electors, the ballots are burned unopened and a new vote is held. Otherwise, each ballot is read aloud by the presiding Cardinal, who pierces the ballot with a needle and thread, stringing all the ballots together and tying the ends of the thread to ensure accuracy and honesty. Balloting continues until someone is elected by a two-thirds majority. (With the promulgation of ''[[Universi Dominici Gregis]]'' in 1996, a simple majority after a deadlock of twelve days was allowed, but this was revoked by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] by ''[[motu proprio]]'' in 2007.)
[[File:Habemus Papam 1415.jpg|thumb|The formal declaration of "[[Habemus Papam]]" after the election of Pope Martin V]]

One of the most prominent aspects of the papal election process is the means by which the results of a ballot are announced to the world. Once the ballots are counted and bound together, they are burned in a special stove erected in the Sistine Chapel, with the smoke escaping through a small chimney visible from [[Saint Peter's Square]]. The ballots from an unsuccessful vote are burned along with a chemical compound to create black smoke, or ''[[fumata nera]]''. (Traditionally, wet straw was used to produce the black smoke, but this was not completely reliable. The chemical compound is more reliable than the straw.) When a vote is successful, the ballots are burned alone, sending white smoke (''[[fumata bianca]]'') through the chimney and announcing to the world the election of a new pope.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://abcnews.go.com/International/white-smoke-pope-black-smoke-nope-conclave-smoke/story?id=18719208|title = White Smoke, Pope; Black Smoke, Nope: How Conclave Smoke Gets Its Color|date = March 2013|website = ABC News|last = Effron|first = Lauren|access-date = 28 June 2020|archive-date = 6 August 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200806114812/https://abcnews.go.com/International/white-smoke-pope-black-smoke-nope-conclave-smoke/story?id=18719208|url-status = live}}</ref> Starting with the Papal conclave, 2005,<ref>{{cite web|title=Press Conference on the Tenth General Congregations of the College of Cardinals (11 March) and Regarding Events of the Coming Days: Tenth and Last General Congregation|url=http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/30611.php?index=30611&lang=en|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505172837/http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/30611.php?index=30611&lang=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2013|publisher=Holy See Press Office|access-date=15 April 2013}}</ref> [[church bell]]s are also rung as a signal that a new pope has been chosen.<ref>[https://www.voanews.com/archive/vatican-bells-will-also-announce-election-new-pope "Vatican: Bells Will Also Announce Election of New Pope".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725041252/https://www.voanews.com/archive/vatican-bells-will-also-announce-election-new-pope |date=25 July 2021 }} ''voanews.com.'' 30 October 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/quick-course-conclave-101 "A quick course in 'Conclave 101'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725041252/https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/quick-course-conclave-101 |date=25 July 2021 }}. ''Ncronline.com.'' 15 February 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2021.</ref>

The [[dean of the College of Cardinals]] then asks two solemn questions of the man who has been elected. First he asks, "Do you freely accept your election as supreme pontiff?" If he replies with the word ''"Accepto"'', his reign begins at that instant. In practice, any cardinal who intends not to accept will explicitly state this ''before'' he receives a sufficient number of votes to become pope.<ref>Thomas J. Reese SJ, ''Inside The Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church'', Harvard University Press (1996), p. 99.</ref><ref>Menachery George, Vatican Adventure http://www.indianchristianity.com/html/menachery/html/GeorgeMenachery.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214041643/http://www.indianchristianity.com/html/menachery/html/GeorgeMenachery.htm|date=14 December 2017}}</ref>

The dean asks next, "By what name shall you be called?" The new pope announces the [[regnal name]] he has chosen. If the dean himself is elected pope, the vice dean performs this task.<ref>[https://www.ncregister.com/news/what-does-cardinal-sodano-s-departure-as-dean-of-the-college-of-cardinals-mean "What Does Cardinal Sodano's Departure as Dean of the College of Cardinals Mean?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713162738/https://www.ncregister.com/news/what-does-cardinal-sodano-s-departure-as-dean-of-the-college-of-cardinals-mean |date=13 July 2021 }} ''ncregister.com.'' 27 December 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2021.</ref>

The new pope is led to the [[Room of Tears]], a dressing room where three sets of white papal vestments (''immantatio'') await in three sizes.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/02/world/europe/papal-transition-traditional-path-sharply-defined.html "Papal Transition: Traditional Path Sharply Defined"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725041252/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/02/world/europe/papal-transition-traditional-path-sharply-defined.html |date=25 July 2021 }}. ''nytimes.com''. 2 April 2005. Retrieved 24 July 2021.</ref> Donning the appropriate vestments and reemerging into the Sistine Chapel, the new pope is given the "[[Fisherman's Ring]]" by the [[camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=4697|title=The Ring of the Fisherman|author=Catholic Online|access-date=25 July 2021|archive-date=25 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725041252/https://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=4697|url-status=live}}</ref> The pope assumes a place of honour as the rest of the cardinals wait in turn to offer their first "obedience" (''adoratio'') and to receive his blessing.<ref>[https://www.americamagazine.org/papal-transition#afterelection "Papal Transition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725041252/https://www.americamagazine.org/papal-transition#afterelection |date=25 July 2021 }}. ''americamagazine.org.'' 24 January 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2021.</ref>

The [[cardinal protodeacon]] announces from a balcony over [[St. Peter's Square]] the following proclamation: ''Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum! [[Habemus Papam]]!'' ("I announce to you a great joy! We have a pope!"). He announces the new pope's [[Christian name]] along with his newly chosen regnal name.<ref>[https://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.process.of.electing.the.new.pope/2492.htm "The Process of Electing the New Pope"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725041253/https://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.process.of.electing.the.new.pope/2492.htm |date=25 July 2021 }}. ''christianitytoday.com''. 5 April 2005. Retrieved 25 July 2021.</ref><ref>Ap. Const. [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis_en.html Universi Dominici Gregis, No. 89] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408114224/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis_en.html |date=8 April 2012 }}.</ref>

Until 1978, the pope's election was followed in a few days by the [[papal coronation]], which started with a procession with great pomp and circumstance from the Sistine Chapel to [[St. Peter's Basilica]], with the newly elected pope borne in the ''[[sedia gestatoria]]''. After a solemn [[Papal Mass]], the new pope was crowned with the ''[[Papal tiara|triregnum]]'' (papal tiara) and he gave for the first time as pope the famous blessing ''[[Urbi et Orbi]]'' ("to the City [Rome] and to the World"). Another renowned part of the coronation was the lighting of a bundle of [[flax]] at the top of a gilded pole, which would flare brightly for a moment and then promptly extinguish, as he said, ''[[Sic transit gloria mundi]]'' ("Thus passes worldly glory"). A similar warning against papal [[hubris]] made on this occasion was the traditional exclamation, ''"Annos Petri non-videbis"'', reminding the newly crowned pope that he would not live to see his rule lasting as long as that of St. Peter. According to tradition, he headed the church for 35 years and has thus far been the longest-reigning pope in the history of the Catholic Church.<ref>St [[Augustine of Hippo]], speaking of the honours paid to bishops in his time, mentions the ''absides gradatae'' ([[Apse]]s with steps, a reference to the seating arrangement for the presbyters in the apse of the church, with the bishop in the middle ([https://books.google.com/books?id=LTb6zWm5PMcC&pg=PA186 William Smith, Samuel Cheetham, ''Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Christian Antiquities''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819142844/https://books.google.com/books?id=LTb6zWm5PMcC&pg=PA186 |date=19 August 2020 }}, "elevated stalls" in the [https://www.scribd.com/doc/2512021/Letters-of-Augustine-of-Hippo Sparrow-Simpson translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305055309/https://www.scribd.com/doc/2512021/Letters-of-Augustine-of-Hippo |date=5 March 2016 }} (p. 83), and appearing as "thrones ascended by flights of steps" in [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf101.vii.1.XXIII.html the Cunningham translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628213136/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf101.vii.1.XXIII.html |date=28 June 2011 }}), and ''[[cathedra]]e velatae'' (canopied thrones, appearing as "canopied pulpits" in both those translations) – [https://books.g. oogle.com/books?id=_Ms7AAAAcAAJ Letter 203 in the old arrangement], 23 in the chronological rearrangement</ref>

The [[Latin]] term, ''sede vacante'' ("while the see is vacant"),<ref>[[Ablative absolute]], equivalent to a temporal clause</ref> refers to a papal [[interregnum]], the period between the death or resignation of a pope and the election of his successor. From this term is derived the term [[sedevacantism]], which designates a category of dissident Catholics who maintain that there is no canonically and legitimately elected pope, and that there is therefore a ''sede vacante''.

For centuries, from 1378 on, those elected to the papacy were predominantly Italians. Prior to the election of the Polish-born John Paul II in 1978, the last non-Italian was [[Adrian VI]] of the Netherlands, elected in 1522. John Paul II was followed by election of the German-born [[Benedict XVI]], who was in turn followed by Argentine-born [[Pope Francis|Francis]], the first non-European after 1272 years and the first Latin American (albeit of Italian ancestry).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21777141|title=Profile: Pope Francis|date=1 December 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=19 May 2018|language=en-GB|archive-date=19 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719070821/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21777141|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Fisher |first1=Max |title=Sorry, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is not the first non-European pope |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/03/13/sorry-jorge-mario-bergoglio-is-not-the-first-non-european-pope/?noredirect=on |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=21 April 2019 |archive-date=18 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718063026/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/03/13/sorry-jorge-mario-bergoglio-is-not-the-first-non-european-pope/?noredirect=on |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Death ===
[[File:Pope John Paul II funeral.jpg|thumb|Funeral of [[Pope John Paul II]] at the Vatican in April 2005, presided over by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI]]
The current regulations regarding a papal interregnum—that is, a ''sede vacante'' ("vacant seat")—were promulgated by [[Pope John Paul II]] in his 1996 document ''Universi Dominici Gregis''. During the ''sede vacante'' period, the [[College of Cardinals]] is collectively responsible for the government of the Church and of the Vatican itself, under the direction of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church. Canon law specifically forbids the cardinals from introducing any innovation in the government of the Church during the vacancy of the Holy See. Any decision that requires the assent of the pope has to wait until the new pope has been elected and accepts office.<ref>{{Cite web|title= John Paul II. ''Universi Dominici Gregis'', Chapter 1.|url= https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis.html|access-date= 19 September 2022|archive-date= 22 November 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191122152903/https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis.html|url-status= live}}</ref>

In recent centuries, when a pope was judged to have died, it was reportedly traditional for the cardinal camerlengo to confirm the death ceremonially by gently tapping the pope's head thrice with a silver hammer, calling his birth name each time.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.snopes.com/religion/hammer.asp|title = Hammer Time|date = 5 April 2005|access-date = 2 November 2014|website = Snopes.com|archive-date = 16 August 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230816180916/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hammer-time/|url-status = live}}</ref> This was not done on the deaths of popes [[John Paul I]]<ref>Sullivan, George E. ''Pope John Paul II: The People's Pope''. Boston: Walker & Company, 1984.</ref> and John Paul II.<ref>{{cite news|author=<!-- Byline --> |url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050411/path.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406020745/http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050411/path.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 April 2005 |title=''The Path to a New Pontiff'' Retrieved: 2010-03-29 |publisher=Time.com |date=3 April 2005 |access-date=11 August 2010}}</ref> The cardinal camerlengo retrieves the [[Ring of the Fisherman]] and cuts it in two in the presence of the cardinals. The pope's seals are defaced, to keep them from ever being used again, and his [[Papal Apartments|personal apartment]] is sealed.<ref name="Global Catholic Network {{!}} EWTN">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/holysee/interregnum|title=Global Catholic Network {{!}} EWTN|website=ewtn.com|access-date=15 January 2020|archive-date=15 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115040946/https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/holysee/interregnum|url-status=live}}</ref>

The body [[lies in state]] for several days before being interred in the [[crypt]] of a leading church or cathedral; all popes who have died in the 20th and 21st centuries have been interred in St. Peter's Basilica. A nine-day period of [[mourning]] (''novendialis'') follows the interment.<ref name="Global Catholic Network {{!}} EWTN" />

=== Resignation ===
{{Main|Papal resignation}}
It is highly unusual for a pope to resign.<ref>As the reign of the pope has conventionally been from election until death, papal resignation is an uncommon event. Before the 21st century, only five popes unambiguously resigned with historical certainty, all between the 10th and 15th centuries.</ref> The [[1983 Code of Canon Law]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P16.HTM|title=Code of Canon Law – IntraText|access-date=15 March 2020|archive-date=16 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516193905/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P16.HTM|url-status=live}}</ref> states, "If it happens that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone." [[Benedict XVI]], who vacated the Holy See on 28 February 2013, was the most recent to do so, and the first since [[Gregory XII]]'s resignation in 1415.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/11/benedict-placehold-pope-weakened-church | title=Benedict, the placeholder pope who leaves a battered, weakened church | work=The Guardian | date=11 February 2013 | access-date=12 February 2013 | author=Brown, Andrew | archive-date=1 March 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301180614/http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/11/benedict-placehold-pope-weakened-church | url-status=live }}</ref>