Pope Francis has died and a special process will take place to select the next leader of the Catholic Church
Pope Francis has died and a special process will take place to select the next leader of the Catholic Church
Pope Francis has died at the age of 88 and while tributes pour in for the head of the Catholic Church, attention will soon turn to the important process of replacing him.
Following the death of a pope – or in rare cases of a resignation – the Vatican convenes what is known as a papal conclave. This is where the College of Cardinals come together to elect the next head of the Catholic Church.
Cardinals are the Catholic Church’s most senior priests, who have travel from all around the world to be at The Vatican in Rome – the home of the Church – to take part in the election, or conclave.
The most recent rules of the papal conclave say that there are 138 electors amongst the 252 total cardinals. Only those who are under the age of 80 are allowed to take part in what is a secret ballot, held in the Sistine Chapel.
There are four rounds of voting, which take place every day until a one candidate receives a two-thirds majority of the vote. The process will typically last between 15 and 20 days before a new Pope is chosen.
During the vote special smoke signals are used to tell people outside what is happening. Black smoke means the cardinals are still deciding. When white smoke is seen, it means that a new Pope has been chosen.
One Cardinal who could be in with an outside shot of becoming the most powerful figure in the Catholic church was born in Merseyside. The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has been the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales since 2009.
Cardinal Nichols, who was born in Crosby in 1945, was made a Cardinal in 2014. He studied for the priesthood at the Venerable English College in Rome from 1963 and was ordained in that city in December 1969 for the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
In an ECHO interview in 2014, he was asked about the possibility of succeeding Pope Francis as the head of the Catholic Church.
He said: “There are some very able men among the cardinals and this is a big church that’s in every continent and most nations – and you can’t assess and judge the unfolding of events in the Church, except from a broad perspective. And on that broad perspective, I am a little dot!
He added: “And we have seen it with having a Pope from the Argentine – it has expanded everyone’s horizons. I think whenever the time comes it will be a worldwide debate, not just a European debate.”
The cardinal attended SS Peter and Paul RC Primary and St Mary’s College, and was brought up nearby in The Precincts, between Endbutt Lane and The Northern Road. At St Mary’s he recalls exploring faith in RE lessons, and that sport and music were also very important at the school.
He said: “I was a member of the school orchestra – I played the French horn – and performed in the annual concerts at the Philharmonic Hall. My appreciation of music grew, while being in an orchestra also teaches you about teamwork.”
