How is the following pope chosen? Vatican to start collection of latest pontiff

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‘White smoke!’

That is essentially the most famous sign that a brand new pope has been elected. News organisations all over the world might be watching live steams of a chimney within the Vatican, waiting for the wispy tendrils that can reveal whether the Catholic Church has a brand new leader.

Once they see it, shouts will go up, followed by a frenzy of breaking news that a brand new pontiff has been elected.

Before any smoke is distributed up from the Sistine Chapel, nevertheless, there’s a conventional and ceremonial process which have to be followed, where senior priests generally known as cardinals meet to determine in secret who needs to be the brand new pope.

You may remember seeing it within the film Conclave, which depicts the method – but some scenes within the Hollywood production are so inaccurate they might even result in excommunication.

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So what really happens within the papal election?

It becomes with the cardinals being summoned. Cardinals are senior officials within the Church – and whoever becomes the following pope is overwhelmingly prone to be certainly one of them, though technically it might be any baptised Catholic male.

There are currently 252, but only 138 are eligible to vote, as they must be under 80 years old (the others can still take part in the discussions surrounding it).

Strict rules surround the method, with cardinals banned from striking deals to vote in blocs.

The election itself is generally known as a conclave (Latin for ‘key’), and is held contained in the Sistine Chapel which was painted by Michelangelo, including the famous image of God reaching out to Adam’s finger.

It often begins 15 to twenty days after the Pope’s death, after a period of mourning where the previous pontiff lies in St Peter’s Basilica for worshippers to file past.

Cardinals will vote for who they need to grow to be pope, until they’ve a majority of two thirds.

The cardinals come from all around the world, but the very best number are from Europe

Details of what is going on within the chapel are kept completely secret.

The one indication to the skin world is the smoke sent up twice a day, from burning the ballot papers.

Black smoke indicates a call has not yet been reached. White smoke, nevertheless, shows the edge has been reached.

How long can the papal election take?

We could be waiting some time.

It hasn’t began yet, and won’t for a few weeks.

Once it begins, the method can last for weeks, months and even years – and cardinals have died in the course of the period of election.

Although lately it has been much shorter than this, the longest Papal election ever lasted three years and eight months, running from November 1268 to September 1, 1271.

It took cardinals two days to elect Pope Francis after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.

What happens after white smoke appears?

White smoke rises from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel meaning that cardinals elected a new pope on the second day of their secret conclave on March 13, 2013 at the Vatican. AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO (Photo credit should read VINCENZO PINTO,VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images) — White smoke rises from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel meaning that cardinals elected a brand new pope on the second day of their secret conclave on March 13, 2013 (Picture: Getty)

It (probably) won’t be long before we discover out who the brand new pope is.

The chosen successor might be asked in the event that they are able to take up the position.

Once – if – they are saying agree, the brand new pontiff might be wearing white and walk to the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica.

The senior cardinal of the conclave will first appear on the balcony overlooking St Peter’s Square, and can announce ‘Habemus Papam’, which implies ‘We now have a Pope’ in Latin.

He’ll then introduce the brand new Pope using his papal name, which could also be different from the one he used before.

For instance, Pope Francis was previously generally known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but once elected he selected a brand new name in honour of St Francis of Assisi, known for his ministry to the poor in addition to take care of animals.