Requirements And Stages For Choosing Whales, Conclave Process Implemented Secretly

Stages of choosing the Pope (Indonesia Papal Visit Committee)

YOGYAKARTA - The Pope is a figure who is highly respected and respected by the world community, especially for Catholics. The highest leader of the world's Catholics is domiciled in the Vatican state. Many people are wondering or curious about the terms and stages of choosing the Pope.

Pope Francis, who came to Indonesia at the moment, is the 266th Pope. Pope Francis is on a three-day visit to Indonesia from 3-9 September 2024. From a series of agendas, the Pope will hold cross-religious dialogues at the Istiqlal Mosque and lead the grand mass at GBK.

The arrival of the Pope is a historic and impressive moment for Catholics in the country. To add insight, let's understand what the terms of becoming a Pope are like and the stages of elections.

Rules or conditions for becoming a Pope have been regulated in the Canonical Code. This Church law book provides life guidelines based on the faith of the people to achieve mutual prosperity.

According to the Canonical Code, Pope Roma received the highest authority in the Church after going through a legitimate election and accepting tahbisan as a bishop.

Therefore, prospective whales must have leadership traits as spiritual leaders of the Catholic Church. If not yet circumcised as bishops, the prospective pope must be immediately appointed as a bishop.

The Canonical Code also stipulates that only men who have been baptized can be appointed as whales. Thus, there are two main conditions to become whales, namely a man and a Catholic who has accepted aappropriationary temperament.

There is no official rule governing the age limit or obligation of the elected whale to come from Italy. The oldest elected whale is Klevens X (1670-1676), which was appointed a pope at the age of 79. While Pope John XII (955-963) is the youngest whale, he is starting to hold the status of the Pope at the age of 18.

In general, a whale holds his post to death. However, Pope Benedict XVI resigned in 2013 and became the first whale to retire in 600 years. The oldest whale in history was Pope Leo XIII, who led to death at the age of 93 in 1878.

Although there is no age limit as a Pope, the average age of a whale when elected is 65 years. In addition, their term of office usually lasts about seven years.

Although the requirement to become a pope seems simple, since 1379, the new whale must be chosen through conclave. The konclaf is a secret meeting of the cardinals of the Catholic Church held to choose a new pope.

Konklaf is held a few days after a whale dies or resigns. The process of selecting the Pope through this conclave takes place in a closed and confidentiality manner. Given the magnitude of the responsibility of a whale, the cardinals are certainly very careful in making their choices.

The cardinals are high-ranking officials in the Catholic Church under the pope. They were appointed directly by the pope. Some cardinals served in the Vatican, while others were scattered around the world to carry out the task of the diocese.

When the time comes to choose a new whale, cardinals under the age of 80 will gather in Rome. The konclaf begins with a special Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican, and in the afternoon they enter the Sistina Chapel to begin the voting process.

In voting, confidentiality is the most important. The chapel doors are locked, and inspections are carried out every day to ensure there are no wiretapping devices. Inside the Sistina Chapel, cardinals receive ballot paper to write down the names of their selected candidates.

Each cardinal immediately gives a voice by writing down the name of his choice without any candidate being predetermined. However, the cardinal is not allowed to choose himself.

After the vote was finalized, the cardinals lined up according to seniority to put their ballot papers on a large bowl at the altar. The voices were then counted and the results were announced. If a cardinal gets two-thirds of the vote, he will be a new whale.

If no whales have been elected, because there are no strong candidates, voting can be carried out up to four times a day to two-thirds of the vote. Due to conclave confidentiality, the only way the public knows the results is through themascopy at the Sistina Chapel.

If no whales have been selected, the stocks will emit black smoke from the burning of the cardinals' ballot papers. On the other hand, if a new whale has been selected, white smoke will announce the news to the world.

During the conclave, the only form of communication allowed is through smoke. About 30 to 60 minutes after white smoke appears, the newly selected whale will appear on the balcony to greet the people and offer prayers. The whale's official treatment will be held a few days after the election in St. Peter's Basilica.

That is the explanation of the terms and stages of becoming the leader of the world's Catholics. A Pope must have a character as a religious leader of the Catholic church. In addition, the main requirement to become a pope is male and has been baptized. Also read the history of why the Pope chose the name Francis.