Conclave literally means “with a key” since the cardinals who gather to elect a new Pope are kept locked away from all contact with the world until they elect a new successor of Peter. The process by which a new Pope is elected has changed throughout the two-thousand year history of Christianity in Rome. At times the Pope was elected by acclamation, other times the people, and clergy of Rome selected him and especially in medieval times, noble Roman families competed to control the Papacy.
The present system which consists of the College of Cardinals gathering to select the next Pope was formally established by Pope Gregory X in the 1274 Papal Bull Ubi periculum after the gathering of cardinals which elected him in Viterbo carried on for three years. The rules established by Gregory X have been modified with the passing of time, the last modifications ordered by Pope John Paul II which resulted in a speedy conclave after his death.
The next Papal Conclave will convene in Rome next month as 118 cardinal electors from 51 countries will gather. All of them were appointed cardinals either by John Paul II or Benedict XVI.
Of course the big question is: who will be the next Pope? All the speculation in the world will not help, the Holy Spirit has a way of surprising us. We will soon know.
Site of the first official Papal Conclave (1268-1271), Papal Palace of Viterbo, Italy
Site of the most recent Papal Conclave (April 2005), Sistine Chapel of Vatican City
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