"Waiting for a new Pope"

Waiting for a New Pope

Father Limnyuy Gamsi

The process of choosing a new pope is called a conclave, from Latin words meaning “under lock and key.” That’s because the cardinals are locked away until a decision is made. The responsibility is so great that they remove as many distractions as possible.

The conclave will begin on Wednesday 7th May. After the first evening, the cardinals vote four times a day. There’ll be 133 of them voting this time, and a new pope is elected when one of them receives more than two-thirds of the vote.

The last two conclaves each gave us a pope the following evening, but historically, other conclaves have taken weeks or even months.

We’ll know a new pope has been chosen when white smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, where the voting takes place. Soon afterwards, the new pope will appear in white from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.

I remember that after Pope John Paul II died, we talked about it in my primary school—even though it wasn’t a religious one. I also remember the day Pope Benedict was elected in 2005. My family had gathered—not because of the conclave, but because it was my birthday! We did gather again in 2013 when the white smoke appeared, and I remember the joy of seeing and hearing Pope Francis for the first time.

Now we wait again. As Catholics, we wait to see who our next leader and shepherd will be—the one for whom we will pray at Mass each day. But even beyond the Catholic Church, the pope is a voice for the voiceless, as Pope Francis has shown—speaking to both believers and non-believers alike. So we wait, and while we wait, we support the cardinals with our prayers.

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