When a Pope dies, the Catholic Church follows a highly traditional and secretive process to elect a new one, known as the conclave. After a nine-day mourning period, cardinals under the age of 80 travel to Vatican City to begin both formal and informal discussions. They attend General Congregations and private conversations as they begin considering who the next leader of the global Catholic Church should be.
The term ''conclave'' comes from Latin, meaning ''locked with a key.'' During the voting period, the cardinals are literally locked inside the Sistine Chapel, without access to phones, electronics, or notes. Voting is conducted in secret through paper ballots, with four rounds each day. A two-thirds majority is required to elect a new Pope.
The voting continues until one name receives the needed votes. Black smoke rising from the chapel indicates no decision; white smoke signals that a new Pope has been chosen. As speculation swirls about who the next pontiff might be — whether a conservative or someone aligned with Pope Francis — the world watches closely. Billions of people, Catholic or not, pay attention to this deeply symbolic and globally important event.
Vocabulary:
• conclave (noun): a secret meeting to elect a new Pope
• orchestrated (adj): carefully planned and organized
• mourning (noun): the period of grieving after someone dies
• cardinal (noun): a senior official in the Catholic Church who helps elect the Pope
• sealed (adj): completely closed off or locked
• majority (noun): more than half; the larger part
• legacy (noun): ideas or achievements left behind by a leader or historical figure
• pontiff (noun): another word for the Pope
• agenda (noun): a list or plan of goals and priorities
• conservative (adj): favoring traditional values or approaches
• progressive (adj): favoring change and new ideas
• elect (verb): to choose someone for a position through a vote
• witness (verb): to see something happen, often an important event
Source: TODAY