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The Sistine Chapel
It was 1492 when the first Conclave was held in the Sistine Chapel. In context, this is the same year that Christopher Columbus set sail and discovered the new continent we now call America! The Sistine Chapel is named for Pope Sixtus IV who commissioned the Chapel and - as shown in the photograph (right) - the dimensions are based on the specification given in the First Book of the Kings that correspond to the Temple in
Jerusalem and the Holy of Holies. The famous frescos in the Sistine Chapel include the magnificent ceiling of the Creation from Genesis and the Last Judgment painted by Michelangelo.

The Sacred College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals is the Senate of the Church. They are the principal counsellors of the Holy Father and have, as their principal duty, the right and the power to elect the next pope when there is a vacancy of the Apostolic See following the death or abdication of a pope. Cardinals are freely chosen by the pope - he may appoint any man he wishes - though with being a Cardinal, one must be at least a priest, and usually if not a bishop, they are consecrated a bishop before being created a Cardinal. Cardinals lose their right to vote at eighty years of age.

The Voting Procedure
The voting procedure is as simple as it is intimidating, as Cardinal Nichols movingly described it in an
interview with Sky News following the death of Pope Francis. Each Cardinal must write the name of the candidate they have chosen on a ballot and, standing before the Last Judgement swear that the man they are voting for is the one whom - before God - they believe should be elected pope. After each vote, ballots are counted (this is called a Scrutiny), and then the ballots are burned, producing black smoke if no man has reached a 2/3rd majority, or else white smoke (as left, when Cardinal Bergoglio was elected) when a new pope has been elected and has accepted his election, and not refused it.

A Choice of Name
The man elected pope can refuse. However, if he accepts, he is immediately the pope. He is asked what name he wishes to be known by. There is only precedent that requires a man to choose a new name; no pope must, he may wish to keep his baptismal name. But every pope since the fourth century has taken a new name. And Simon himself, the first pope, was given the new name of Peter!

The Announcement
Shortly after the white smoke has appeared, the famous words will be spoken in Latin: I announce to you a great joy: We have a pope! And we will hear who the new pope is, discover his identity, and what name he has chosen. His name is added to the prayer of the Mass in the Roman Canon and all the Eucharistic Prayers and we must
pray for our new Holy Father - known to God in His Providence.