According to Canon Law, when the Pope dies or resigns, the Cardinal Camerlengo assumes responsibility for managing the Holy See during the sede vacante (vacant see) period, which lasts until a new Pope is elected. The Camerlengo is a senior cardinal appointed by the Pope to oversee the Holy See’s finances and property during the sede vacante It is also the Camerlengo who verifies the Pope’s death, oversees the sealing of the papal apartment, and organizes the conclave to elect a new Pope. The College of Cardinals also takes on broader responsibilities, including overseeing the Church’s day-to-day affairs and handling urgent matters. Currently, this role is held by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, an Irish-born American Catholic prelate who has served as the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity.
In the meantime, the governance of the Catholic Church passes to the College of Cardinals which is composed of all cardinals under 80 years of age. It is well to mention that Cardinals are bishops and Vatican officials from all over the world, personally chosen by the pope, recognizable by their distinctive red vestments. The civil powers of the Pope regarding the government of Vatican City and the day-to-day administrative and financial duties are handled by the College of Cardinals thatntakes on a broader role during the sede vacante to prepare for the conclave.
The conclave is the secret election process by which the cardinals vote to choose a new Pope which is held in the Sistine Chapel and involves a series of votes until a two-thirds majority is reached. The Cardinals discuss the needs and the challenges facing the Catholic Church globally. They will also prepare for the upcoming papal election, called a conclave. Decisions that only the pope can make, such as appointing a bishop or convening the Synod of Bishops, must wait till after the election. In the past, they made arrangements for the funeral and burial of the deceased pope.
The cardinals vote by secret ballot, processing one by one up to Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgment, saying a prayer and dropping the twice-folded ballot in a large chalice. Four rounds of balloting are taken every day until a candidate receives two-thirds of the vote. The result of each ballot are counted aloud and recorded by three cardinals designated as recorders. If no one receives the necessary two-thirds of the vote, the ballots are burned in a stove near the chapel with a mixture of chemicals to produce black smoke.
When a cardinal receives the necessary two-thirds vote, the dean of the College of Cardinals asks him if he accepts his election. If he accepts, he chooses a papal name and is dressed in papal vestments before proceeding out to the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. It is the senior cardinal deacon, currently French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, announces from the balcony of St. Peter’s “Habemus Papam” (“We have a pope”) before the new pope processes out and imparts his blessing on the city of Rome and the entire world. Up until the election of a new Pope, the Catholic Church is well taken care of and the papal throne is not at all vacant.
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