Pope Francis Taught Peace and Humility

Pope Francis is smiling and waving while wearing white robes and a cross necklace. He is standing in front of a red curtain.

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Top Image Credit: vaticannews.va

ROME, Italy—Pope Francis, 88, died on April 21, one day after appearing at St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday.

Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and he was elected pope in 2013. He became the first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis was known for his humility and calls for peace. He served as the 266th pope.

Following a period of mourning, his death INITIATES a very detailed, and secretive, series of steps to select a new leader. The process for selecting a new pope is known as a Papal Conclave. This begins with cardinals gathering at the Vatican in Rome. While there are more than 250 total cardinals, only 120 of them, who must be younger than 80, actually vote in the conclave. The cardinals swear an oath of discretion and the Sistine Chapel doors are closed to the public. The cardinals are not even allowed to communicate with anyone outside the election area, except in urgent situations.

Once the cardinals have assembled, they begin voting in secret inside the Sistine Chapel. They cast their votes on paper ballots, and those ballots are mixed together before being counted to ensure every cardinal has voted. Each ballot is then read aloud. The group only votes once on the first day, but up to four rounds of voting may occur each day after that. Voting continues until one candidate gets at least two-thirds of the votes.

After each round of voting, the cardinals’ ballots are burned in a fireplace and smoke appears in the sky outside. Black smoke means that no choice has been made, while white smoke signifies that a new pope has been selected.

The Papal Conclave is a process that has remained largely unchanged for more than 800 years! In the 13th century, it took more than three years to elect Pope Gregory. Since 1900, no conclave has lasted more than four days. Pope Francis was elected after one of the shortest conclaves in history, which lasted just over 24 hours.