Main Guidelines for Electing a Pope as Defined in Universi dominici gregis

Location, Date, and Participants
The Conclave to elect the next Pope takes place within the territory of Vatican City. It must begin no earlier than fifteen full days after the Apostolic See becomes vacant unless the College of Cardinals determines that all Cardinal electors are present. The Conclave must start, however, no later than twenty days after the See became vacant.

The College of Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church constitute the body with the right and authority to elect the new Pope. Of the 120 Cardinals, those who have yet to celebrate their eightieth birthday on the day the Apostolic See becomes vacant are eligible to participate in the election. These Cardinal electors are then lodged in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, which is adjacent to Saint Peter’s Basilica.

In addition to the College of Cardinals, there are other individuals involved with the Conclave. They tend to the “personal and official needs connected with the election process” (46) and include the Secretary of the College of Cardinals, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations, two Masters of Ceremonies, two Religious attached to the Papal Sacristy, an ecclesiastic to assist the Cardinal Dean, priests for hearing confessions, two medical doctors, people to prepare and serve meals and tend to housekeeping. These individuals all swear an oath, as will the Cardinal electors, to maintain absolute and perpetual secrecy.

The Election
The election process begins with the Cardinal electors first gathering in Saint Peter’s Basilica, where they participate “in a solemn Eucharistic celebration with the Votive Mass Pro Eligendo Papa” (49). Following this, they process to the Sistine Chapel where they take an oath to observe the prescriptions in Universi dominici gregis and absolute secrecy regarding everything that relates to the election of the new Roman Pontiff. They also swear that whoever among them is elected Pope will commit himself faithfully to carrying out the duties of the office and will defend the spiritual and temporal rights and liberty of the Holy See. After the oath is taken, the Cardinal Dean asks if clarification about the norms and procedures concerning the election is needed. If none is, then he leaves and only the Cardinal electors remain in the Sistine Chapel and the election process begins immediately.

The Voting Process
The voting process consists of three phases: 1) pre-scrutiny; 2) scrutiny; and 3) post-scrutiny.

Pre-scrutiny involves the preparation and distribution of ballot papers, the selection of three Scrutineers, three Infirmarii to collect votes from the sick, and three Revisers fromamong the Cardinal electors. Then the Cardinal electors write down their votes in secret on a ballot paper. This piece of paper must be rectangular. In the upper half appear the Latin words Eligo in Summum Pontificem (I elect to be Supreme Pontiff). The lower half remains blank for the Cardinal elector to write the name of the person he chose using handwriting that cannot be identified as his. Then the Cardinal elector folds his ballot twice.

In the second phase, scrutiny, each Cardinal elector holds his folded ballot up so that all of the Cardinal electors can see it. He then carries it to the altar to where the Scrutineers stand, swears the following oath: “I call as my witness Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who before God I think should be elected,” (66) places the ballot on the plate, and uses it to drop the ballot into the ballot box. He then bows to the altar and returns to his seat. Once all of the votes are cast and collected from any of the Cardinal electors who are ill and remain in their rooms, the Scrutineers begin counting the ballots. They sit at a table before the altar. The first Scrutineer draws a ballot from the box, records the name, and passes the ballot to the next Scrutineer who does the same. The last Scrutineer then reads the name to all present and threads each ballot through the word Eligo. Once all of the ballots are read and threaded, the thread is knotted to preserve the ballots better, and these are either placed back in the voting box or left on the table. The Cardinal electors record the vote on a piece of paper designated for this purpose. After all of the names are recorded, the Scrutineers tally the votes and write down each name on a separate piece of paper.

Finally, in post-scrutiny, the Scrutineers tally the number of votes each person received. If there is an individual who received the required two-thirds majority, then the election is canonically valid and that person becomes the new Roman Pontiff. If no one received the two-thirds majority, then the balloting continues according to prescribed guidelines. In either case, at the end of each vote, the Revisers verify the ballots and Scrutineers’ notes.

Final Matters of the Voting Process
Once the Scrutineers and Revisers determine that an individual has been canonically elected, the Scrutineers, Secretary of the Conclave, and the Master of Ceremonies burn the ballots and all notes that the Cardinal electors may have written down. The Cardinal Camerlengo also draws up a document declaring the result of the election. The three Cardinal Assistants approved this before it is given to the new Pope to be kept in a designated archive.

The Newly Elected Pope
Upon the election being declared canonically valid, the Secretary of the College of Cardinals and the Master of Ceremonies are summoned into the election room. The Cardinal Dean the asks the person elected, “Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?”  and, after receiving the person’s consent, inquires, “By what name do you wish to be called?” (87). Following this, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations draws up a document certifying that the new Pope has accepted his position and recording the name that he has chosen. This is witnessed by two Masters of Ceremonies. The Conclave comes to an end once the newly elected Pope gives his assent.

White Smoke, Black Smoke
Although the use of white smoke to signal a pope has been elected and black smoke that one has not appears to be a feature of modern papal elections, no provision for this is mentioned in Universi dominici gregis. The apostolic constitution only stipulates procedures for burning ballots to maintain secrecy. The origins of this practice remain obscure though Frederic Baumgartner (2003) suggests that the practice is no more than a century old based on his examination of sources. In a recent interview, former Vatican engineer, Stefano Marino, explained two stoves are employed. The older stove, built in 1939, is used to burn the ballots. Next to it, a new stove, designed in 2005 by Marino, burns a mixture of vegetable-based chemicals to release the proper color of smoke.