VATIKAAN
Conclaaf: Een nieuwe paus kiezen
May 5, 2025 - Following Pope Francis’ death, cardinals are summoned to Rome for a papal conclave—an elaborate and highly secretive ballot process to elect the new spiritual leader for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
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Papal conclaves are notoriously difficult to predict because the election process is shrouded in so much secrecy.
Of the 252 members of College of Cardinals, 135 are under age of 80, which makes them eligible to vote.
Voting takes place in the Sistine Chapel, which is thoroughly swept for surveillance devices beforehand, then locked and sealed once the cardinals are inside.
In each voting round, electors write their chosen candidate’s name on a slip of paper and place it into a silver urn, declaring “before God” that they have followed their conscience. The votes are then counted and read aloud, revealing the leading contenders and the extent of their support.
This process continues until one candidate receives a two-thirds majority. After every round, the ballots are burned – black smoke from the chimney signals no decision has been reached, while white smoke announces the election of a new pope.
The secrecy of the conclave was brought to life in the Oscar-nominated film “Conclave”, released last year.