Events that follow pope's death
 | |
|  VIDEO |
 A look at the 700-year-old rituals for selecting a pope.
|
| DEATH OF JOHN PAUL II |  Time of death: 9:37 p.m. in Rome; 2:37 p.m. Eastern; 19:37 GMT, April 2, 2005
Age at time of death: 84 years
Death announcement: Archbishop Leonardo Sandri
Vatican protocol: "All the procedures that were foreseen in the apostolistic consitution (universi dominici gregis) that were put forth by John Paul II on the 22 February 1996 have been launched." -- Sandri
|
SPECIAL REPORT |
1920~2005 |
 |
 |
|
|
VATICAN CITY (CNN) -- The events to follow the death of Pope John Paul II are laid out by a script the pontiff himself drew up his 1996 "apostolic constitution," Universi Dominici Gregis, along with traditions set during previous turnovers.
The first step will be for the cardinals of the Catholic Church to decide on the time of two events: The funeral and the start of the conclave, the gathering in which the cardinals will debate on and elect a new pope.
The Universi Dominici Gregis law dictates that the pope must be buried between the fourth and sixth day after death, after his embalmed body has been on display at St. Peter's Basilica for mourners.
The cardinals are meeting to decide on the funeral and burial on Monday. While popes have been traditionally been buried beneath St. Peter's in modern times, there is speculation that John Paul could have specified his burial take place in his native Poland.
The law stipulates a total of nine days of mourning, beginning on the day after the death, and the conclave cannot begin earlier than 15 days or later than 20 days after the pope's death.
All action in the conclave will be secret. As long as voting is taking place, the only indication of results will be the presence of black smoke or white smoke from a Vatican chimney -- white when a new pope is elected and black if the voting has not produced a new pontiff.
After the official announcement of the pope's death on Saturday, his body was displayed for cardinals, archibishops and other dignitaries in the Apostolic Palace. On Monday, the body will be transferred to St. Peter's, where it will lie in state for the general public.
Procedures following death:
Day 4, 5 or 6:
By law, the burial takes place.
Day 10:
By tradition, a big funeral mass takes place at St. Peter's.
Day 15 (earliest possible date):
By law, Conclave begins in the Sistine Chapel. On that morning, the cardinals will celebrate the Votive Mass "Pro Eligendo Papa," probably in St. Peter's.
"Conclave" refers to a locked section of the Vatican where the cardinals remain until they have elected a new pope. The word conclave derives from Latin -- cum + clavis -- and means "locked with key." This time, though, instead of sleeping in the chapel, the 117 cardinals will stay in the Casa Santa Marta Hotel, inside the Vatican.
In the afternoon they will start the conclave in the Sistine Chapel. In theory they can vote that afternoon.
The voting
The cardinals will vote twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. It used to be that a two-thirds majority plus one was needed for election -- making for some very long selection processes -- but Pope John Paul II changed that. Now, if there is no conclusive decision after 30 ballots, a simple majority is enough.
For each vote, the cardinals receive ballots bearing the inscription, "Eligo in summum ponticem," Latin for "I elect as supreme pontiff." They are to write their choice on the ballot, doing what they can to disguise their handwriting.
In order of seniority, the cardinals place their folded ballot containing their choice onto a small disc made of precious metal, then drop it inside a chalice.
After each vote, the ballots are counted and burned. Chemicals are added to make the smoke black or white, with the former signifying an inconclusive vote and white indicating a pope has been elected.
Any baptized male can be elected, though any layman selected would have to be ordained priest and bishop.
Whoever is elected is asked whether he wants the job. If he accepts, the dean of the college of cardinals asks for what name he should be called. The last pope to keep his own name was Marcellus II in 1555.
If he is a bishop, he immediately becomes Bishop of Rome and pope. If he is not, he is then ordained by the dean.
Each of the cardinals then pledges his support to the new pope.
After new pope is elected
The eldest member of the college and the new pope appear on St. Peter's main balcony, where the cardinal announces the selection to the world with the words "Habemus Papam" (We have a pope) and will announce the new pope's name, both his birth name and the name he has chosen for his name as pope.
By tradition, anywhere between 30 minutes to one hour can pass between the white smoke and the appearance on the balcony. It is only when the cardinal announces the name that the public knows who was elected.
Installation of the new pope will likely take place days after his election. This is purely ceremonial, as he becomes pope upon becoming Bishop of Rome when he is elected. He decides where and when to hold the Mass, although it probably will be at St. Peter's.
