The 2025 Conclave Begins Today

Today is a very historic day for Holy Mother Church. Today is the first day of the Papal Conclave to elect the 266th successor of St. Peter, the 267th Pope. This election of a new Pope is a very meticulously planned process. The protocols in place have been simplified over the last century, but the essentials remain the same. Here is a brief outline of what is involved in the election of a new Pope.

The first step is to determine the vacancy of the Holy See (the See of Rome). This is established by an official proclamation of the death of the reigning Pontiff or by the formal abdication of the Papal Office by the same Pontiff. The vacancy of the Holy See was established in 2013 by the declaration of resignation of Pope Benedict XVI; the vacancy in 2025 by the death of Pope Francis I. The death of a Pope is officially verified by the Camerlengo (Chamberlain), at which point the See of Peter (the Diocese of Rome) is officially declared to be vacant: sede vacante.

The Papal Conclave is then convoked by the senior Cardinal (usually the Dean of the College of Cardinals), who summons to Rome all eligible Cardinal-electors (those under the age of 80). After a certain waiting period to allow all eligible Cardinals to make it to Rome (usually about 15-20 days, though in 2025 the period was much shorter), the Cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel in order to begin the electoral process. Everything that takes place in the conclave is under the strictest of secrecies, second only to the Seal of Confession, and violating the secrecy of the electoral process comes with the threat of excommunication. The purpose of this is to ensure that the Cardinals can remain completely free to discuss the candidates without any worries about what they say being used against them later on. The Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel are completely sequestered from the outside world. No phones or internet access are permitted, and any contact with anyone outside the conclave is strictly forbidden.

In the conclave, voting is done by secret ballot. Each Cardinal writes the name of his chosen candidate on a paper ballot, folds it, and places it in a Chalice on the sacred Altar. According to current legislation, up to four rounds of voting are permitted to take place each day: two in the morning and two in the afternoon. In the past, in order to speed up the electoral process and prevent the conclave from drawing itself out for too long, the amount of food with which each Cardinal was provided was reduced in quantity each day. This practice is no longer observed today, when even minimal fasting has all but disappeared from the spirit of the modern Church.

To be elected, a candidate must receive a two-thirds majority. Since there are 133 Cardinals in the current conclave, this means that the one elected as the new Pope must receive the votes of at least 89 Cardinal-electors. Technically, any baptized male Catholic who has received the age of reason can be elected Pope. If a layman is elected (extremely rare!), he must be then ordained a Priest and consecrated a Bishop before being installed (formerly “coronated”) as Pope. The Coronation ceremony was last used by Pope Paul VI in 1963, after which the same Pope suppressed the Coronation ritual and the wearing of the Papal tiara, and replaced it with a simple ceremony of "inauguration."

While the outside world sees all of these regulations under the noxious angle of the Da Vinci Code (or the equally pernicious film Conclave), the Catholic Church understands the importance of maintaining such protocols as a means of protecting the integrity of the electoral process for the next successor of St. Peter. The electoral format used for the election of a new Pope is not meant to mimic a political-style federal election; it is to be a spiritual process by which the Cardinal-electors discern, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, who it is that Our Lord wills to be His Vicar here on earth.

The current conclave begins today, May 7, 2025. While it is very unlikely that any of the 133 Cardinal-electors are aware of it, today is a very special feast day in the traditional (pre-1955) Roman calendar. On the Wednesday following the 2nd Sunday after Easter (meaning after the Easter Octave), the Church celebrated each year the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Protector of the Universal Church. This Solemn Feast was celebrated every year in order to honour St. Joseph in a special way during Paschaltide (the Easter Season). In 1955, the Solemnity of St. Joseph in the Easter Season was suppressed and replaced by the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1. The Lenten feast of St. Joseph (March 19) was, however, maintained.

In a time of great confusion and crisis in the Church, a time when many faithful clergy and laity are frightened by the potential outcome of the current conclave, it is a consoling act of Divine Providence that the Papal conclave begins on a day that was specially designated to honour the patronage of St. Joseph over the Universal, Catholic Church. What better patron saint could the Cardinals possibly have to guide them in what could turn out to be the most important decision that they will ever make in their lives: important for themselves, but more significantly, important for the life of the Catholic Church as a whole. A holy Pope can bring many graces to the Bride of Christ (the Catholic Church) and can foster a true spirit of renewal in the Faith and in the Apostolic zeal for the salvation of souls. A bad Pope, on the other hand, could prolong the crisis in the Church indefinitely and draw out the Passion of the Church for a very long time to come. It should give us tremendous comfort to know that, Providentially, this Papal conclave commences on the traditional feast day of one of the Church’s greatest saints, and specifically the one chosen by the Church to be her own guardian and protector.

During this time of conclave, the role of the faithful is above all prayer. Faithful Catholics who pray fervently for a holy successor of St. Peter can bring down from Heaven into the conclave a vast array of graces that could help steer the Cardinals in the right direction and help them to elect a true man of God to the Papal throne. The greatest prayer that can be offered for this intention is, of course, the prayer of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is especially powerful, in terms of graces obtained, to offer the Mass Pro Eligendo Summo Pontifice (For the Election of a Supreme Pontiff). This is a special Votive Mass in the Roman Missal, and it is designed to be used when the See of Peter is vacant. Along with this, if you are able to assist at Holy Mass today in the pre-1955 calendar and invoke the assistance of St. Joseph, Protector of the Universal Church, this can be especially beneficial for the outcome of the Papal conclave. If you are unable to find such a Mass near you (which is very likely the case), I suggest praying the prayers from the traditional Roman Missal. I encourage you today to pray the Missal’s prayers both for the Solemnity of the Patronage of St. Joseph and for the Election of a Sovereign Pontiff.

There is no prayer more powerful than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to obtain graces for Holy Mother Church. Now, more than ever, we must use the power that comes from the Sacrifice of the Cross through the Holy Eucharist to beg God to grant us a holy Pope: not a Pope that we justly deserve, but a Pope that we need. A man of prayer and sacrifice. A man willing to die for the Catholic Truth. A man who knows that he is not the head of the Catholic Church but merely the Vicar of Christ in this world: A servant of the servants of God. For that is indeed one of the most ancient titles attributed to the Office of the Papacy: the occupant of the Throne of Peter is the Servus servorum Dei. We need a Pope who is a faithful and true guardian of the Sacred Scriptures, of the Apostolic Tradition, and of the perennial 2000-year Magisterium; for the Successor of St. Peter is called to be all these things. We need, above all, a Pope after the very Heart of God!

Here is a link to the prayers of the Traditional Roman Rite from the Mass for the Election of a Supreme Pontiff when the See of Peter is vacant (sede vacante). Click on image to access the Latin-English text: