The Catholic world is reeling with the news that the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has passed away aged 88. Now the dust is settling, the question on everyone’s minds is, how is the next pope elected? And who is in charge now?
Who is in charge of the Catholic Church after the pope dies?
No one person is fully in charge following the pope’s death. Instead, the Church shifts to a caretaker mode. However, there is still a kind of governance from various factions.
The chief administrator until a new pontiff is selected is the Camerlengo (Chamberlain). Cardinal Kevin Farrell was appointed Camerlengo by Pope Francis in 2019. Kevin is originally from Dublin, Ireland and is a naturalised American citizen. His main duties now that Pope Francis has passed are to verify his death, seal the papal apartments, run the Vatican administration, organise Pope Francis’s funeral and begin the novemdiales (nine days of mourning).
The College of Cardinals are the main body which oversees the Church during sede vacante (literally vacant seat in Latin). However, their main task is day-to-day admin to keep things moving, and organising the papal conclave in order to select the next pope.
The Dean of the College of Cardinals is currently Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Although he presides over the College and is primus inter pares (first among equals), the dean and vice-dean have no power over the other Cardinals. The Dean calls the papal conclave, presides over the daily meetings during the conclave meetings (called General Congregations), leads the pope’s funeral mass and is the public face of the Church. However, Cardinal Giovanni is 91, and so the Vice Dean Cardinal Leonardo Sandri may take up some of his responsibilities.
How is a new pope elected?
Anyone who has read Dan Brown, watched Conclave, or was paying attention during Pope Francis’s and Pope Benedict’s own elections will have some insight into the process. It is a prolonged one.
A pope is elected through a papal conclave. It is a centuries-old tradition and is held in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. It takes place within a month of the previous pope’s passing or resignation.
The College of Cardinals vote for the new pope. The College has 138 electors under the age of 80. Pope Francis appointed over three-quarters (about 78 per cent) of these electors.
Now that His Holiness has passed away, the cardinals, among them Australia’s Mykola Bychok, will be summoned to Rome to begin the conclave.
How does a papal conclave work?
The electorate includes around 120 cardinals who are sequestered in the Vatican for the duration of the conclave. They must be under the age of 80 to be allowed to vote. The cardinal electors are not allowed any contact with the outside world until a new pope is elected. This is to ensure privacy and freedom from external influence.
Voting is done by secret ballot. The cardinals can hold up to four votes in a day (two in the morning and two in the afternoon). The cardinals vote freely, and they don’t vote from a set list. Before voting begins, there’s a period of discussion and reflection (called the General Congregations). This is when the cardinals may talk about the Church’s needs and potential candidates.
During the conclave, cardinals can write down any eligible name on the ballot. To be elected, the new pope has to win two-thirds of the votes.
After each vote, the ballots are burned in a special stove. If no pope has been elected, chemicals are added to produce black smoke (which signals that no candidate has been chosen). When a pope is elected, white smoke is seen rising from the Sistine Chapel chimney.
The elected cardinal is asked: “Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?” If he accepts, he chooses a papal name. Then it’s official.
The senior cardinal then announces “Habemus Papam” (“We have a pope”) from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. Then, the new pope appears to bless the crowd.
Who can be pope?
Technically, anyone who is baptised, is male, and is under the age of 81 years can be elected pope. However, the person selected is almost always chosen from the College of Cardinals.
Who is the newly elected pope?
On 8 May, 2025, the conclave of Cardinals sent white smoke into the air as they elected a new pope: Pope Leo XIV.
Pope Leo is the first U.S.-born pontiff and the second pope (after Pope Francis) to be from the Americas.
You can read all about him here.
