The process of electing a new Pope is cloaked in secrecy, with those involved literally locked away until the decision is made. But here is what we know about that ceremony.
With the death of Pope Francis, the search is on for the new head of the Catholic Church, a branch of Christianity that encompasses more than 1.3 billion people around the world. That selection process will soon take place at the Vatican in Rome.
Who is allowed to become Pope?
Any man who is Roman Catholic can technically be elected Pope.
But before anyone meeting those criteria gets their hopes up, the Pope has been chosen from the College of Cardinals, the group charged with electing the Pope, for the last 640 years or so.
Who are the College of Cardinals?
They are the Catholic Church’s most senior officials.
They are summoned to the Vatican for an election known as a conclave. Any cardinal aged over 80 is excluded from voting at the conclave.
Watch more on the process of choosing a new pope on TVNZ+
The papal conclave begins within 15 to 20 days of the previous Pope’s death or resignation (although a Pope resigning his post is incredibly rare). This is so that cardinals from around the world have enough time to travel to the Vatican.
The cardinals are then shut inside the Vatican until they agree on who the new Pope is, a process that used to take weeks or months, but now usually takes days.
Those inside are not allowed any contact with the outside world while the new Pope is chosen – this means no media of any kind and no mobile phones. Anyone privy to the proceedings could face being excommunicated from the church if they discuss what is happening with people outside the group.
The voting takes place in the famous Sistine Chapel, which is closely checked for any recording devices before proceedings begin.
How is the new Pope elected?
The rules for how a new Pope is chosen have been changed a few times, but the current requirement is that he needs a two-thirds majority of the votes.
The cardinals will write the name of their preferred candidate on paper ballots which are then placed in an urn. They are not allowed to vote for themselves.
If a person receives two-thirds of the votes, they become Pope.
But if nobody has the required majority after that first round of voting, then another vote takes place the next day. There can then be up to four votes a day until the fifth day, when there is a break. Voting then continues before another break.
This process repeats until a candidate gets two-thirds of the votes. At a certain point, a run-off vote would need to be held between whichever two candidates have had the most support.
How will the rest of the world find out there’s a new Pope?
This is the part most people have probably already heard of.
The paper ballots are burned after every voting round, with the smoke that comes from the Vatican’s rooftop indicating whether a new Pope has been selected or not.
Chemicals are added to the burning ballots to produce different colours of smoke. If the smoke is black, it means no decision has been made. If the smoke is white, the Pope has been chosen.
Usually, the new Pope will appear on the balcony overlooking St Peter’s Square at the Vatican shortly after the white smoke is seen. He will be introduced with the papal name he has chosen for himself.
His papal coronation will take place at a later date.
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