Pope John Paul II wasn’t the most obvious choice to lead the
world’s Roman Catholics when he was elected head of the Church in
1978. The name of the cardinal archbishop from Krakau, Poland, had
not been mentioned much in the press until white smoke rose from
the Vatican, a symbol that the church’s leaders had selected a new
supreme leader.
Pope John Paul II wasn’t the most obvious choice to lead the world’s Roman Catholics when he was elected head of the Church in 1978. The name of the cardinal archbishop from Krakau, Poland, had not been mentioned much in the press until white smoke rose from the Vatican, a symbol that the church’s leaders had selected a new supreme leader.
Unexpected selections are actually the norm for Catholic leaders, but the age and frail condition of the current pontiff lead to inevitable speculation over who the next pope will be. Since the 13th century, the pope has consistently been elected out of the College of Cardinals, but any Roman Catholic man is technically eligible for the position.
Catholic law states that after the pope is pronounced dead, there are a traditional nine days of mourning, and 15 to 20 days after the pope’s death, the College of Cardinals must meet to determine who the next pope will be.
Sequestered in an annex of the Sistine Chapel that is swept for listening devices, the cardinals take a vow of secrecy and begin the voting process, known as a conclave. They may take up to four votes per day, but election of a pope has long required a two-thirds-plus-one majority, which has sometimes led to significant disruptions in leadership.
In 1268, 18 cardinals met to elect a new pope, but divided by political and personal disagreements, they still had not found leader after a year and a half. Local authorities decided to help the process along. They locked the cardinals into the palace, but they still reached no resolution. After months of more debate, the people of Viterbo, Italy, where the negotiations were being held, asked what was taking so long.
“The cardinals said, ‘because the descent of the Holy Spirit on our heads is not easy,'” said Monsignor Salvatore Del Ciuco told PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. “So the people said, ‘Let’s facilitate the descent of the Holy Spirit. If we remove the roof of the palace, he will come down easier.’ And in fact, in a few days, the new pope, Gregory IX, was elected.”
Emerging from the chaos of the election, Gregory put in place the system as it is known today, with cardinals locked into a conclave to vote by secret ballot until they reach a consensus. At the beginning of the 20th century, a tradition of notifying the public after each vote evolved as well.
Once ballots are cast, they are set on fire. If a new pope has been elected, white smoke rises from the chimney. If not, a special substance is added to make the smoke black. But the next papal election will take a slightly different turn.
In 1996, John Paul II decreed in a document called the Universi Dominici Gregis, that a majority ruling of more than 50 percent could be used to decide the next pope’s name if no consensus had been reached in 34 votes.
Cardinals over the age of 80 are not allowed to vote in the selection process, though they may speak on the needs of the church at pre-conclave meetings.
It’s a monumental decision – the election of the pope is considered the election of a man meant to act as a living interface with God. In the Bible’s book of Matthew, Jesus says his disciple Peter is the rock that the church will be built on, promising him the “keys to the kingdom of heaven.” In the Catholic tradition, the pope is accepted as part of an unbroken succession from Peter.
While previous pontiffs were selected by an almost entirely European group of cardinals, the current pope embraced a more global perspective for the college, making the body an international board that currently consists of 128 members. And in the more global climate that prevails today, Vatican watchers agree that the next pontiff will have to be a cosmopolitan presence.
The next pontiff will need to be a global thinker, believes Mark Catalana, director of vocations at the San Jose Catholic Archdiocese.
“What the cardinals do during their pre-conclave meetings is attempt to assess the type of leader the church needs,” said Catalana. “The qualities vary from time to time, but I would imagine the next pope would be a man of prayer, a man of faith. Given the current pope has traveled quite a lot, I think they would want to continue that, too.”
But the list of demands varies and can be quite extensive – from being able to speak numerous languages to being holy and learned. One thing is certain: sticking out from the pack is considered a bad idea, said Catalana, since very few pontiffs have ever won the post after being suggested for the title.
“There would not be a single cardinal who would want to be labeled a contender,” said Catalana.
Rumor of an impending rise to the papal seat is usually just that.
“Nobody ever knows,” said the Rev. Richard Clark, of Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Tres Pinos. “There are always rumors, but there’s no certainty at all.”
The last 100 popes
Celestine II (1143-44)
Lucius II (1144-45)
Blessed Eugene III (1145-53)
Anastasius IV (1153-54)
Adrian IV (1154-59)
Alexander III (1159-81)
Lucius III (1181-85)
Urban III (1185-87)
Gregory VIII (1187)
Clement III (1187-91)
Celestine III (1191-98)
Innocent III (1198-1216)
Honorius III (1216-27)
Gregory IX (1227-41)
Celestine IV (1241)
Innocent IV (1243-54)
Alexander IV (1254-61)
Urban IV (1261-64)
Clement IV (1265-68)
Blessed Gregory X (1271-76)
Blessed Innocent V (1276)
Adrian V (1276)
John XXI (1276-77)
Nicholas III (1277-80)
Martin IV (1281-85)
Honorius IV (1285-87)
Nicholas IV (1288-92)
St. Celestine V (1294)
Boniface VIII (1294-1303)
Blessed Benedict XI (1303-04)
Clement V (1305-14)
John XXII (1316-34)
Benedict XII (1334-42)
Clement VI (1342-52)
Innocent VI (1352-62)
Blessed Urban V (1362-70)
Gregory XI (1370-78)
Urban VI (1378-89)
Boniface IX (1389-1404)
Innocent VII (1404-06)
Gregory XII (1406-15)
Martin V (1417-31)
Eugene IV (1431-47)
Nicholas V (1447-55)
Callistus III (1455-58)
Pius II (1458-64)
Paul II (1464-71)
Sixtus IV (1471-84)
Innocent VIII (1484-92)
Alexander VI (1492-1503)
Pius III (1503)
Julius II (1503-13)
Leo X (1513-21)
Adrian VI (1522-23)
Clement VII (1523-34)
Paul III (1534-49)
Julius III (1550-55)
Marcellus II (1555)
Paul IV (1555-59)
Pius IV (1559-65)
St. Pius V (1566-72)
Gregory XIII (1572-85)
Sixtus V (1585-90)
Urban VII (1590)
Gregory XIV (1590-91)
Innocent IX (1591)
Clement VIII (1592-1605)
Leo XI (1605)
Paul V (1605-21)
Gregory XV (1621-23)
Urban VIII (1623-44)
Innocent X (1644-55)
Alexander VII (1655-67)
Clement IX (1667-69)
Clement X (1670-76)
Blessed Innocent XI (1676-89)
Alexander VIII (1689-91)
Innocent XII (1691-1700)
Clement XI (1700-21)
Innocent XIII (1721-24)
Benedict XIII (1724-30)
Clement XII (1730-40)
Benedict XIV (1740-58)
Clement XIII (1758-69)
Clement XIV (1769-74)
Pius VI (1775-99)
Pius VII (1800-23)
Leo XII (1823-29)
Pius VIII (1829-30)
Gregory XVI (1831-46)
Blessed Pius IX (1846-78)
Leo XIII (1878-1903)
St. Pius X (1903-14)
Benedict XV (1914-22)
Pius XI (1922-39)
Pius XII (1939-58)
Blessed John XXIII (1958-63)
Paul VI (1963-78)
John Paul I (1978)
John Paul II (1978 –)
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