Cardinals Gather for Conclave to Elect a New Pope
The cardinals will vote once today, around 7 PM local time (1 PM ET).
Happy Start of Conclave Day!
133 cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel to elect the 267th successor to St. Peter.
Only those 80 years old can vote.
Tomorrow, I will join with the other Cardinal Electors in fulfilling our sacred responsibility to elect a new pope. During this time, I will have no communication with anyone outside the Sistine Chapel’s walls. Please ask the Holy Spirit to guide us as we discern God’s will. pic.twitter.com/ni4xyPXy1H
— Joe Tobin (@CardinalJWTobin) May 6, 2025
Some shots from two important rooms tied to the election of a new Pope: the Sistine Chapel, now prepared for the conclave, and the "Room of Tears", a small room next to the Sistine Chapel where the Pope dons the white papal vestments for the first time. pic.twitter.com/i1dtRq6i5l
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) May 6, 2025
Mass
Around 10 AM local time (4 AM ET), the College of Cardinals attended the “Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice” Mass, their last public event before they enter the conclave.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, gave the homily, urging “unity and service.”
This is the full homily of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re during the solemn "Mass Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice" at St. Peter's Basilica.#Conclave #Conclave2025 pic.twitter.com/Z5zbxvcpO2
— EWTN News (@EWTNews) May 7, 2025
Schedule Leading to the Closing of the Sistine Chapel
The cardinals left the Casa Santa Maria, a Pontifical North American College residence, around 3:45 PM local time (9:45 AM ET) and gathered at the Pauline Chapel at 4:15 PM local time (10:15 AM ET).
The cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel at 4:30 PM local time (10:30 AM ET).
Every cardinal swears an oath to fulfill Munus Petrinum (Petrine Ministry), which is basically to continue Peter’s ministry, if elected pope: “I, Cardinal [Name], do so promise, pledge and swear. So help me God and these Holy Gospels which I touch with my hand.”
It also includes a promise of secrecy and not allowing the outside world to sway their vote.
The Holy Spirit is to guide the cardinals.
After the oaths, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Ceremonies said, “extra omnes” (everyone out), emptying the chapel of everyone not involved in the conclave.
Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher Emeritus of the Papal Household, delivered the second meditation to the Cardinal electors in front of the Master of Liturgical Ceremonies.
Cantalamessa and the Master of Liturgical Ceremonies leave the Sistine Chapel.
Voting begins.
The smoke from the votes will be the only communication the cardinals have with the outside world until a new pope emerges.
The cardinals will vote once today, around 7 PM local time (1 PM ET).
Starting tomorrow, the voting could happen as many as four times, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon.
Wondering when to watch for white smoke?
On the first day of the Conclave (Wednesday, May 7), there will be just one round of voting. The first smoke signal is likely to come between 7:45 to 8:15 p.m. Rome Time (1:45 to 2:15 p.m. EDT) — white smoke if a Pope has been elected, or… pic.twitter.com/dkxF2IR8gB— Knights of Columbus (@KofC) May 6, 2025
Voting
The ballot says, “Eligio in Summum Pontificem” (“I elected as the Supreme Pontiff”). The cardinals write down their choice and cast the ballot in a chalice at Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgement after a prayer.
A cardinal must have a two-thirds majority to become the next pope.
Once the majority has been met and the candidate accepts, the cardinals burn the ballots with chemicals that make the smoke white.
Over the past century, the last 10 conclaves have varied in length and intensity-from swift decisions like the 2005 election of Pope Benedict XVI in just two days, to some more drawn-out processes reflecting deep internal debates. These conclaves highlight the evolving global… pic.twitter.com/EnI81igef0
— EWTN News (@EWTNews) May 7, 2025
I just hope the new pope is someone the leftists and media won’t use to twist and fit their agenda.
Yes, I had a few problems with Pope Francis, but he wasn’t as radical or “rebellious” as the left and media made him out to be.
Ever wonder about how the Catholic Church is structured? From the pope to parish priests, our infographic breaks down the structure of the hierarchy that guides and serves the faithful around the world. Each plays a unique role in building up the Body of Christ, united in… pic.twitter.com/5XFcDJsAmE
— Knights of Columbus (@KofC) May 6, 2025
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Comments
watch eurotrip
Scotty doesn’t know…
:)!!
I don’t know either. Scotty beamed me up before I could find out.
Should be called the Smoking Room.
Looks like they’ve got on their smoking jackets.
Not holding out hope we get another John Paul II, but we will see.
Pope Donald-John?
Oh man, don’t start that again.
LOL
;-{)}}}
Also, shouldn’t he be just “Don”? Then he can be Pope Don Juan?
One can only hope he will be a Catholic first, rather than an activist for globalism.
Sort of like the apocryphal Schultz story about making ambassadors point to the country they serve, maybe the cardinals should first ask of each potential candidate, “Whom do you serve?” If the answer is anything other than “God in heaven above” then they’re out. If they were American protestants they would would know “Heaven is my home.”
Many decades ago I heard a psychologist talk about the time he was designated to hire a rabbi for his congregation. Knowing nothing that would qualify him to assess rabbinic qualifications, he devised a psychological test instead. When each candidate sat down he’d ask him, “Rabbi, do you believe in God”, and start a stopwatch to time his response. Most took a few seconds before responding in the affirmative. When one candidate did not hesitate at all but immediately said “yes”, he hired him.
During his pontificate Pope Francis selected 110 cardinals. This includes 108 cardinals who are eligible to vote out of the 133 who will be voting in the current conclave.
Yeah, that’s definitely not a hopeful sign. JPII created more than 200 Cardinals and that paid off because they chose Cardinal Ratzinger – a very conservative JPII consigliere – as JPII’s replacement. Unfortunately, Benedict XVI didn’t last long as Pontiff and many of those same JPII Cardinals then chose Francis. While I hope the Holy Spirit persuades them to pick against type, I’m not holding my breath. The chances we get someone ideologically similar to Francis in the same way Benedict was to JPII are probably large.
You expressed it well. Thank you.
At this point, I’d just be happy if they DON’T pick another Jesuit. There are four Jesuits eligible to vote in this Conclave (all made Cardinals by Francis). The good news is I haven’t really seen any of their names on the ‘short list.’ The African Cardinals (and African clergy more generally) tend to be more theologically (and socially) conservative than the average Cardinal and at least two of them seem to be at least in serious consideration.
I think you mean “Only those under 80 years old can vote.”
Right. That one stuck out at me.
A great disadvantage to the traditionalists.
Mary Ann Madden New York Magazine unlikely greeting card selection contest
Saw your smoke
Now you’re Pope
Congrats
My bingo card for 2025 has “Maryland Man, First Ballot.”
I;m voting for JR. If he’s pope he’ll have no time to post his TDS rants here.
Oh no!
What about tjv1156? He says you’ve hurt his lil itty bitty feelers because he wants to be a poopoo
He doesn’t seem the Prince of the Church type.
More the Prints and DNA Samples type.
oh look! a bunch of random dudes in Halloween costumes who believe in fairy tales!
LAFFRIOT
Good to see you further expose yourself as a hateful person while pretending you represent the virutous side. In fact, you are pitiful, a real dupe, a perfect representation of your cult. A mix of Hogg and Mulvaney, and quite laughable.
That can all be shortened to “midwit”.
That seems rather generous.
I think the word you’re reaching for is “dipwit.”
And… right on cue….
acb
“Please ask the Holy Spirit to guide us as we discern God’s will.”
Strange that it takes a 2/3rds vote to elect the pope, when God’s will is oneness (John 17). You’d think the vote would be unanimous if they correctly discerned God’s will.
Hey, when done cleverly, it can take years to probate God’s will.
Not everyone may be paying attention to God’s will.
We are all individuals. Some of us taking longer.
No winner first ballet
On the first round they all vote for themselves.
Frankly I think it’s because the food and wine they get is very good and they don’t want to have to leave too soon.
The Grail only comes out for special occasions.
With that group, I’m just glad they aren’t wearing tutus.
Fortunately, Tutu was an Anglican.
It’s funny, because all this talk about how it is time for an African pope his image popped into my head.
Should have expected this but wasted a couple hours watching the movie, Conclave, last night. They picked a tranny.
“Why, of course!” was the thought. “Who else would sh*tlib Hollywod pick?”
So I take it the movie isn’t very good. New movie?
Netflix offering, which suffered the great good fortune of having the real world suddenly make it super-relevant right at release time.
Like Utopia. Except Utopia got it 95% right, while Conclave screwed the canem.
He wasn’t trans. He was raised a boy and didn’t know he was intersex until a surgeon opened him up after he survived a bombing and found a non functional uterus. Trans is a mental disorder, intersex is a physical disorder.
Unfortunately, it can also the stand-in for what we think of as ‘trans’ today. It’s the “rapes and incest” argument for legalized abortions – no person with a conscience would want this guy to suffer, so you have to endorse this entire, MUCH larger group (that isn’t quite the same, except by the Prog definition they use).
It might not be so in the case of the movie – I have not seen it. But the Progs use that kind of trick all the time.