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Step 1
Calling the Conclave. After the death, funeral and burial of a pope, the cardinal camerlengo, the man who runs the Vatican between the death of one pope and the election of another, calls a conclave—a meeting of all eligible cardinals for the purpose of electing a successor to the throne of St. Peter. The Sacred College of Cardinals consists of 120 men all under the age of 80. All members of the College are summoned to Rome. Any member who fails to appear is excommunicated, unless he has a good excuse for not attending, such as imprisonment, serious illness or death.
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Step 2
Know the Candidates. Popes are usually picked from the membership of the College. The most likely candidates are referred to as "papabile." It's been said that "Any man who walks into the conclave a pope will leave as a cardinal," but this saying isn't necessarily true. Cardinal Ratzinger, for instance, was high on the list of papabile, and he in fact was elected as pope in 2005. Vatican watchers often speculate that the College tends to elect very old men after a long papacy, to serve as a sort of "interim" pope, the idea being that electing a younger man would almost ensure another lengthy reign.
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Step 3
Know the Conclave. The activities of the conclave are supposed to be secret. During the conclave the cardinals have no contact with the outside world, and the rooms they occupy both day and night are kept locked and guarded. Once the cardinals have settled in to their quarters, they file into the Sistine Chapel, the cardinal camerlengo orders all non-participants to leave the room and he locks the door.
The cardinals have one session in the morning and one in the evening. Cardinals are not allowed to vote for themselves and are to keep their votes secret, even to the point of altering the style of their handwriting. Campaigning for certain candidates is technically not allowed, but there are many hushed conversations amongst the cardinals between sessions.
After filling out his ballot, the cardinal folds it over, swears before God that he has voted for the man he feels the Holy Spirit is guiding him to elect and the ballots are counted and strung onto a ribbon. After the tally, if no candidate has been chosen by a two-thirds majority, the ballots are burned in a stove with a handful of straw and a chemical pellet. This produces black smoke from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel and tells the people standing out in St. Peter's Square that a pope has not yet been chosen. If after a few days the vote is inconclusive, the cardinals take a break to pray and contemplate. When a pope is chosen the ballots are burned alone, producing white smoke and bells are rung to underscore the news. -
Step 4
Learn about the Election and Announcement. Once a candidate is chosen, the Cardinal Dean of the College asks the candidate if he will accept election. If he assents the Cardinal Dean asks him by which regnal name he wishes to be known. In the last two-hundred years only a few names have been chosen: Pius, Gregory, Leo, Benedict, John, Paul and John Paul.
After this the newly-elected Pope is led to the "Room of Tears," where he changes into his new Papal vestments (three sizes are kept on hand).
The senior Cardinal Deacon then appears on the balcony of St. Peter's and makes his "Habemus Papam" ("We have a Pope") announcement in which he gives the new Pope's original name and his new regnal name. The Pope then appears on the balcony and makes his "Urbi et Orbi" (To the City and the World") address and blesses the crowd. -
Step 5
Witness the Coronation or Inauguration. In the past Popes were crowned, either inside St. Peter's or outside of it, with a triple tiara, but the humble John Paul I waived this ceremony in favor of a simpler inauguration, where he was adorned with the ring of St. Peter and with a circular cloth pallium, both of which being symbols of his office. John Paul II and Benedict XVI also opted for an inauguration.
