{"id":4579,"date":"2025-04-21T09:04:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T09:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=4579"},"modified":"2025-04-21T09:04:24","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T09:04:24","slug":"what-happens-when-a-pope-dies-vatican-protocol-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=4579","title":{"rendered":"What happens when a Pope dies: Vatican protocol explained"},"content":{"rendered":"
Following the passing away\u00a0of a reigning pope, such as Pope Francis whose death was announced\u00a0earlier today, the Roman Catholic Church has initiated\u00a0a detailed and centuries-old process to honour the deceased pontiff and prepare for the election of his successor.<\/p>\n

Here is a guide to what happens after the death of a Pope:<\/p>\n

The procedure begins with the camerlengo, currently Irish-American Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who officially confirms the pope’s death.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, this involves gently tapping the pope\u2019s head three times with a silver hammer and calling out his name.<\/p>\n

The camerlengo then seals the pontiff\u2019s private apartments and organises the funeral.<\/p>\n

A group comprising the camerlengo and three cardinal electors\u2014chosen by lot\u2014determines when the body will be moved to St. Peter\u2019s Basilica for public viewing.<\/p>\n

The pope\u2019s Fisherman\u2019s Ring and official lead seal are ceremonially destroyed to prevent misuse.<\/p>\n

No autopsy is carried out.<\/p>\n

A nine-day mourning period follows, with the funeral typically held four to six days after death in St. Peter\u2019s Square.<\/p>\n

While most popes are interred in the crypt beneath St. Peter\u2019s Basilica, Pope Francis previously indicated his preference for burial at St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome.<\/p>\n

The burial involves three coffins: an inner one of cypress, sealed inside a lead casket, and finally enclosed within a wooden outer coffin.<\/p>\n

During the interregnum, the College of Cardinals takes over administrative functions, though their powers are limited.<\/p>\n

Succession<\/p>\n

A conclave is then convened in the Sistine Chapel between 15 and 20 days after the pope\u2019s death to elect his successor.<\/p>\n

Cardinals under 80 years of age participate in the secret ballot, which requires a two-thirds majority plus one to elect a new pope.<\/p>\n

The voting may extend over several days.<\/p>\n

Once a candidate accepts the role and selects a papal name, he dons the papal vestments and is received by the cardinals, who pledge their allegiance.<\/p>\n

The world is informed of a successful vote when white smoke emerges from the Sistine Chapel chimney, created by burning the ballots with special chemicals.<\/p>\n

Black smoke indicates that no decision has yet been reached.<\/p>\n

Shortly after, the dean of the College of Cardinals appears on the central balcony of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica to announce \u201cHabemus Papam\u201d (“We have a pope”).<\/p>\n

The newly elected pontiff then steps forward to deliver his first blessing to the crowds gathered in the square.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following the passing away\u00a0of a reigning pope, such as Pope Francis whose death was announced\u00a0earlier today, the Roman Catholic Church has initiated\u00a0a detailed and centuries-old process to honour the deceased pontiff and prepare for the election of his successor. Here is a guide to what happens after the death of a Pope: The procedure begins […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4579\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}