“There is a new aspect to this Conclave,” Fr. Lombardi noted.
“The Pope, before going to the balcony at the centre of St. Peter's
Basilica, will stop at the Pauline Chapel to pray before the Blessed
Sacraments for a few moments.
Then he will go out onto the loggia and greet those gathered with the
“Urbi et Orbe” blessing.
Regarding the opening Mass of the new pontificate, Fr. Lombardi explained
that it does not have to be celebrated on Sunday, but could occur any day of
the week.
Finally, he clarified that the Prefect of the Papal Household, Archbishop
Georg Ganswein, the Pope emeritus' personal secretary, will attend the
ceremony of the beginning of the Conclave, as foreseen by his defined
duties.
___________________________________________________________
SWEARING IN OF OFFICIALS AND AUXILIARY PERSONNEL FOR CONCLAVE
Vatican City, 11 March 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Office of Liturgical
Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff announced that this afternoon at 5:30pm in
the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, the officers and assistants of the
Conclave process
will take the oath of secrecy.
All those involved in the care of the coming Conclave, both ecclesiastic
and secular persons, have received prior approval from the Cardinal Camerlengo
and the three Cardinal Assistants as established in No. 46 of the Apostolic
Constitution
“Universi Dominici Gregis”. The following will take the oath
prescribed in No. 48 of that document:
- The Secretary of the College of Cardinals
- The master of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff
- The masters of pontifical ceremonies
- The religious who supervise the pontifical sacristy
- The ecclesiastic chosen by the cardinal dean to help him in his duties
- The religious charged with hearing confessions in the various
languages
- Doctors and nurses
- The personnel for preparing meals and cleaning
- Florist staff and technical service personnel (UDG, Nos. 5 and 51)
- Personnel responsible for transporting the Cardinal electors from the
Domus Sanctae Marthae to the Apostolic Palace
- Elevator attendants at the Apostolic Palace
- The Colonel and a Major of the Corps of Pontifical Swiss Guards
responsible for surveillance around the Sistine Chapel
- The Director of Security and Civil Protection Services with some
assistants.
After having been instructed on the meaning of the oath, they will have to
pronounce and personally sign the prescribed formula before Cardinal Tarcisio
Bertone, S.D.B. Camerlengo of Holy Roman Church, and in the presence of two
apostolic
protonotaries.
___________________________________________________________
NORMS AND RITES REGULATING CONCLAVE PROCEDURE
Vatican City, 11 March 2013 (VIS) – The “logistics” of
the procedures carried out in a Conclave are not established on the basis of
personal opinion nor are they subject to passing fads or improvisation. The
liturgical
tradition—established after the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican
Council—notes with great precision the norms and rites that are to be
followed. These are found in the Book of Rites of the Conclave.
The first aspect that the book highlights is the importance of the
Conclave, as it involves the election of the Roman Pontiff. Then, focusing on
the Mass that precedes the Cardinal electors' entrance into Conclave, it
dedicates an entire chapter to
explaining the rites and rubrics of this Eucharistic celebration.
The Second Chapter describes the most significant moments of the ceremony
of entry into Conclave, with the specific oath that the cardinals swear. The
process of voting and the scrutiny of the votes is also subject to a precise
order to be followed
exactly, as are the preceding and following rituals and the moment of the
chosen cardinal's acceptance as Roman Pontiff and his proclamation.
The Book of the Rites of the Conclave ends, at the Fifth Chapter, with the
solemn announcement of the election of the Pope and his first “Urbi et
Orbi” blessing from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica.
Always in accordance with the Apostolic Constitution “Universi
Dominici Gregis” promulgated by John Paul II, Benedict XVI introduced a
few new features to improve the procedure of the Conclave. For example, at the
“pro eligendo
Romano Pontifice” Mass held the morning of the day that the Cardinal
electors enter into Conclave, all cardinals are expected to participate, not
just the Cardinal electors.
Another new addition is where the Rite of Admission to the Conclave and the
Oaths of Cardinals should take place. The Pauline Chapel has been established
as the particular place prescribed for these two acts.
The regulations also state that, for this ceremony, the senior cardinal in
the hierarchy—who currently is Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re—will
preside over the celebration, which begins with the sign of the cross and the
proclamation of the
following words:
“May the Lord, who guides our hearts in the love and patience of
Christ, be with you all.”
After this brief prayer, Cardinal Re will invite all those gathered to
begin the procession towards the Sistine Chapel, where the Conclave will take
place, with these words:
“Venerable Brothers, after having celebrated the divine mystery, we
now enter into Conclave to elect the Roman Pontiff.
The entire Church, joined with us in prayer, constantly calls upon the
grace of the Holy Spirit to elect from among us a worthy Pastor of all of
Christ's flock.
May the Lord direct our steps along the path of truth, so that, through the
intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Apostles Peter and Paul, and all
the saints, we may always do that which is pleasing to him.”
After this prayer, the cardinals process into the Sistine Chapel following
the minister bearing the cross, the choir, the masters of ceremony, the
secretary of the College of Cardinals, and the prelate who will give the
meditation to the Cardinal
electors. The procession is ended with a deacon, dressed in alb and stole,
bearing the book of the Gospels, along with Cardinal Re and the Master of
Ceremonies.
During the procession the cardinals will sing the Litany of Saints—a
prayer that has eminent importance in celebrations of the Latin liturgy and
that recalls saints of the West and the East—and the celebration
concludes with the hymn
“Veni Creator Spiritus” when they are are gathered in the Sistine
Chapel.
A few names that are not customarily recited, but who represent to the
universal Church have been introduced in the canticle of the Litany of Saints.
These include: the patriarchs and prophets Abraham, Moses, and Elijah; St.
Maron of Lebanon; St.
Frumencio of Ethiopia and Eritrea; St. Nina of Georgia; St. Gregory the
Illuminator of Armenia; St. Patrick of Ireland; and other saints representing
various lands such as martyrs of Canada, Uganda, Korea, and Oceania; St. Rose
of Lima, Peru, for South
America; and some Popes, including St. Pius X.
The solemn oath taken by the cardinals inside the Sistine Chapel follows
the formula established in the Apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici
Gregis”. After the recitation of the Common Form of the oath, each
cardinal then lays his
hand upon the Gospels, and individually pronounces the prescribed form of the
oath.
When the last of the Cardinal electors has taken the oath, the Master of
Ceremonies recites the traditional formula “Extra omnes” and all
those not taking part in the Conclave must leave the Sistine Chapel.
Besides the Cardinal electors, the only others who will be present in the
Sistine Chapel are the Master of Ceremonies and Cardinal Prospero Grech,
O.S.A., who will preach the second meditation concerning the grave duty
incumbent on them and thus on
the need to act with right intention for the good of the Universal Church.
After that exhortation, Cardinal Re will propose to the College of Electors
to begin with the first ballot of the Conclave.
___________________________________________________________
CONCLAVE: NOTES FROM RECENT CENTURIES
Vatican City, 11 March 2013 (VIS) – Following is a brief chronology
of Conclaves in recent centuries along with interesting facts that occurred
during each.
In the entire history of the Church, the longest papal electi
n—taking place in Viterbo, Italy in 1268 and ending with the election of
Gregory X—lasted for over two years. It was as a result of this instance
that the modern incarnation of
the papal Conclave was instituted.
In modern history, the longest Conclave was that of 1740, which ended with
the election of Benedict XVI. It lasted from 18 February until 17 August, 181
days. Fifty-one cardinals participated in the final ballot, four cardinals
having died during the
proceedings.
In 1758, the Conclave that elected Clement XIII lasted from 15 May until 6
July, 53 days. Forty-five cardinals participated, but one was absent at the
final ballot, having left the Conclave because of illness.
In 1769, Clement XIV was elected after 94 days, from 15 February until 19
May. Forty-six cardinals participated in the vote.
Beginning in 1774, the Conclave that elected Pius VI lasted 133 days, from
5 October of that year until 15 February 1775. Forty-six cardinals entered in
the Conclave but two of them died during the proceedings.
The Conclave that elected Pius VII took place in Valencia, Spain, since
Rome was under occupation by Napoleon’s troops. It lasted from 1
December 1799 until 14 March 1800, 105 days. It was the last Conclave held
outside of Rome and 34 cardinals
participated.
In 1823, Leo XII was elected after 27 days, 2 September until 28 September,
and 49 cardinals participated.
In 1829, the Conclave that elected Pius VIII lasted 36 days, 24 February
until 31 March, and 50 cardinals participated.
At the Conclave that began in 1831, the last cardinal not to be bishop was
elected Pope, Gregory XVI. The Conclave that elected him lasted 51 days, from
14 December 1830 until 2 February of the following year and 45 cardinals
participated.
“Short” Conclaves began to take place from 1846, with the
election of Blessed Pius IX. Fifty cardinals elected him Pope in a conclave
lasting three days, from 14 to 16 June of that year.
After the longest papal reign, which lasted more than thirty years, the
following Conclave also lasted three days, from 18 to 20 February in 1878.
Sixty-one cardinals participated in the vote to elect Leo XIII. It's
interesting to note that, as his
reign was the third longest in papal history, lasting over 25 years, only four
of the cardinals that elected him participated in another Conclave. Another
interesting fact from this Conclave is that the first American to be created
cardinal, Cardinal
John McCloskey, archbishop of New York, would have been the first non-European
to take part in a papal election but he arrived too late to participate. That
honour was to go to Cardinal James Gibbons, archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland
at the next
Conclave.
In 1903 St. Pius X was elected Pope by 64 cardinals in a Conclave that
lasted five days, from 31 July until 4 August, and had 7 ballots. It was the
last time that the “Jus Exclusivae” (“right of
exclusion” or right to veto a
candidate for the papacy claimed by the Catholic monarchs of Europe) was
exercised. The Italian Cardinal Mariano Rampolla was vetoed by Franz Joseph I
of Austria-Hungary. After his election, St. Pius X abolished the right of
heads of state to exercise a
veto.
In 1914, the Conclave that elected Benedict XV lasted four days, from 31
August until 3 September. The 57 participating cardinals had 10 ballots. Three
North American Cardinals were locked out of the Sistine Chapel, having arrived
too late to enter
but it was the first time that a Latin American cardinal participated,
Cardinal Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti, archbishop of Sao
Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In 1922, during the Conclave that elected Pius XI, 53 cardinals held 7
ballots over five days, from 2 to 6 February. Two American and one Canadian
cardinal were again left out of the Conclave for having arrived too late.
After his election, Pius XI
established a period of 15 days from the beginning of the Sede Vacante to
entering into Conclave in order to allow cardinals enough time to travel to
Rome.
In the 1939 Conclave that elected Pius XII, the first patriarch of an
Eastern rite participated in the election: His Beatitude Mar Ignatius Gabriel
I Tappouni, patriarch of Antioch and all the East of the Syrians. The
Conclave, the shortest of the
twentieth century, lasted just two days, from 1 to 2 March. The 62 cardinals
held 3 ballots.
In the Conclave of 1958 that elected Blessed John XXIII, cardinals from
China, India, and Africa participated for the first time. The Conclave lasted
four days, from 25 to 28 October and the 51 cardinals held 11 ballots.
In 1963, the Conclave lasted three days, from 19 to 21 June. The 80
cardinals elected Paul VI after 11 ballots.
In 1978, the Conclave that elected John Paul I was the first in which
cardinals over the age of 80 did not participate. The Conclave lasted two
days, 25 to 26 August. The 111 Cardinal electors held four ballots.
In the second Conclave celebrated that year—the reign of John Paul I
lasting just 33 days, resulting in the most recent “Year of Three
Popes”—Blessed John Paul II was elected by the same 111 Cardinal
electors after eight
ballots held over three days 14 to 16 October.
In 2005, Benedict XVI was elected Pope in the fourth ballot of the Conclave
that lasted two days, from 18 to 19 April. The largest number of Cardinal
electors ever took part in that election: 115.
The Conclave that begins tomorrow morning, 12 March 2013, will be the first
one since 1829 to be held during Lent. One hundred fifteen Cardinal electors
will participate.
___________________________________________________________
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