At the end of the first day of the most recent papal conclave, black smoke tendrils were seen wafting from the Sistine Chapel, indicating that a successor for Pope Francis has not yet been selected.
This week, Oakland University history professor James Naus gave Audacy a bit of insight about what goes on inside the secret confines of the conclave, and what to expect when it is done.
“I think it’s going to be a pretty exciting week in front of us, or perhaps less than a week,” he told WWJ Newsradio’s Beth Fisher.
Naus explained that the gathering of 133 cardinals under the age of 80 began the conclave process Wednesday morning with a series of masses and prayers to prepare for the process of selecting the next leader of the Catholic church and the Vatican. When they make their decision, white smoke will emit from the chapel, which Naus noted was first used for the process in 1492. Until then, they are – as the Latin roots of “conclave” indicate – locked in to focus on the task.
Catholic News Agency reported on the black smoke Wednesday evening. That indicates that the cardinals took a vote that did not result in the appointment of a new pontiff. In addition to mysteries about the process itself, Naus said that what type of pope the cardinals are hoping to choose is also a mystery as of this week.
“I think it’s one of the reasons why we find this sort of event so fascinating, because we don’t know exactly what any of them are looking for,” he said.
What we do know, Naus added, is that the cardinals likely have global politics on their minds and that most (108) were appointed by Pope Francis himself.
“The thing that kind of unites the people that Francis appointed as cardinal electors, [is] where they came from, the periphery of Christendom, so places that cardinals don’t necessarily come from,” he explained. “So, I think we have much more diversity in terms of geography represented in the College of Cardinals that’s meeting, which is exciting, but it also makes it difficult to talk about where the pope’s gonna come from.”
According to Naus, the main difference between Pope Francis and other recent pontiffs is that his predecessors were known for their interest in being theologians or jurists and his reputation for being a pope of the people, or an evangelist. Naus said that the cardinals in this conclave are likely weighing this difference as they cast their votes.
As for the rule about participating cardinals being under 80 years old, Naus said that it is probably in place to make sure that the pope serves a long enough term to have an impact. He also said it could be due difficult to travel for older cardinals, and noted that it is a relatively recent rule.
This real-life conclave comes on the heels of the Oscar-nominated film “Conclave” starring Ralph Fiennes. We may not know exactly what happens during a conclave, but Naus told Fisher that he thinks at least one element of the film rings true.
“I thought the movie was well done,” he said. “I thought one of the things the movie probably gets right is kind of the feeling of the amount of weight that is on the shoulders of people... thinking about the responsibility of picking the pope,” especially as they cast their votes in front of Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgement” painting.
How long will it take for the cardinals to decide? It isn’t certain, but Naus did give a ballpark estimate.
“I will take a guess. In theory, it could go on and on and for a long time. In the period of history that I studied, the Middle Ages, the whole reason we have a conclave in fact is because in 1268, very famously, they went for like two years and nine months,” he told Fisher. “That’s not going to happen,” he said, adding that modern conclaves usually last for just a few days.
In the meantime, check out Audacy’s dive into papal betting – is it immoral or OK?