How a pope is elected is again the burning question for 1.36 billion Catholics after Pope Francis died in Vatican City on 21 April 2025, aged 88, and the College of Cardinals fixed 7 May for the start of the conclave that will choose his successor.
The camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, sealed the papal apartments within hours of confirming the death, signalling the period of sede vacante. Francis’s funeral in St Peter’s Square on 26 April closed the public rites, but it also reminded the world that how a pope is elected is governed by ritual as much as by law.
During the nine official days of mourning known as the Novemdiales, 252 cardinals gathered for daily general congregations. Of these, 135 are under eighty and therefore eligible to vote—the largest electorate in modern history—though two have excused themselves for health reasons, leaving 133 expected to enter the Sistine Chapel.
Rituals After a Pontiff Dies
Governance meanwhile passes to the camerlengo and the College of Cardinals, but their most urgent administrative act was to decide the conclave date. By opting for 7 May they respected the mourning timetable while allowing time to prepare Michelangelo’s chapel for the electronic sweeps and the celebrated copper stove that will give visual proof of how a pope is elected.
How a pope is elected also depends on who may participate. The age cap introduced by Paul VI still applies, yet Pope Francis’s expansion of the College means that Asian and African electors now outnumber those from North America, a demographic shift that could shape deliberations.
Secrecy is absolute. Each elector swears an oath to avoid any communication with the outside world. Ballots are held twice each morning and twice each afternoon; to become pope, a candidate must secure a two-thirds majority—at least ninety votes this year.
How a Pope Is Elected: Inside the Conclave
Every ballot paper bears the Latin words Eligo in Summum Pontificem. After the votes are read aloud and threaded on a silk cord, they are burned with a chemical mix: black smoke for no decision, white smoke for success. Should 33 ballots pass without a result, the rules require a run-off between the two leading names, though even then two-thirds support remains mandatory.
History offers cautionary tales about how a pope is elected. The longest conclave, in Viterbo from 1268 to 1271, dragged on for 1 006 days until exasperated townsfolk walled in the nineteen cardinals and cut their rations to bread and water—an ordeal that finally produced Pope Gregory X and the very term conclave, “with a key”.
Modern elections are mercifully shorter. Pius XII emerged in 1939 after just three ballots; John Paul II in 1978 needed eight ballots over two days; Benedict XVI in 2005 required four ballots; and Francis himself was elected in 2013 after five ballots, barely 27 hours after the doors had closed.
Timing the Choice
Cardinal Baltazar Porras predicts that the 2025 vote will also be swift, perhaps concluding by 9 May, because the electors have spent the past twelve years absorbing Francis’s priorities and because many newcomers lack entrenched Roman alliances.
Names most often mentioned include Italian Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, yet veterans warn that the Holy Spirit has a habit of surprising bookmakers—a truth that keeps observers guessing how a pope is elected until white smoke appears.
The composition of the College itself shapes how a pope is elected. Francis appointed 108 of the electors, and almost one third come from the global South, giving unprecedented weight to churches that are young, vibrant and often growing.
Challenges for the Next Pontiff
Whoever emerges will inherit a Church wrestling with clerical abuse, synodality, inter-religious dialogue and the climate crisis. The new pope’s first decisions—choosing a regnal name and greeting the city and the world from the basilica balcony—will set the tone for a pontificate expected to engage sharply divided constituencies inside and outside the Church.
Yet the method remains unchanged: how a pope is elected demands prayerful discernment more than political manoeuvring. As Cardinal Vincent Nichols remarked, unity around the papacy is a strength precisely because the outcome is accepted as Spirit-led rather than faction-made.
Ultimately the fascination with how a pope is elected endures because the ritual links twenty-first-century media to medieval faith. The moment the protodeacon announces Habemus Papam and the bells of St Peter’s ring, the focus shifts from process to person—but the mystery that captivated the crowd remains the same.
Enduring Significance
Whether the conclave lasts four ballots or four days, how a pope is elected this May will ripple across global diplomacy and local parishes alike, reminding the world that ancient ceremonies can still decide modern destinies—one folded ballot at a time.