Conclave - 2013 - Overview

The Cardinals

Voting & Non-Voting Cardinals
2 Cardinal Electors have indicated that they will be unable to attend the conclave:
- Julius Riyadi Cardinal Darmaatmadja, S.J., Archbishop Emeritus of Jakarta, Indonesia
- Keith Michael Patrick Cardinal O’Brien, Archbishop Emeritus of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland, Great Britain
Of the 117 Voting Cardinals, 67 were named by Pope Benedict XVI. The remaining 50 were named by Pope John Paul II. (That 50 includes the two that are unable to attend.)
Of the living Cardinals, only 6 were Council Fathers at the Second Vatican Council
- Cardinals Fiorenzo Angelini, Francis Arinze, Giovanni Canestri, Emmanuel III (Emmanuel-Karim) Delly, Serafim Fernandes de Araújo, and Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy
- All of them are over 80 and thus will not be in the Conclave
Of the Cardinals alive today, 99 participated as Electors in the 2005 Conclave.
- Of those, 49 are now over 80 and thus will not be in the new Conclave.
- The two Cardinals that are unable to attend are among the other 50.
- (I should note that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was also an Elector in 2005.)
Average Age of the 115 Participating Cardinal Electors:
Average Years of Service as a Cardinal of the 115 Participating Cardinal Electors:
Average Age of all 207 Living Cardinals:
Consistories: All | 1973 | 1976 | 1979 | 1983 | 1985 | 1988 | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2001 | 2003 | 2006 | 2007 | 2010 | Feb 2012 | Nov 2012
Highly Recommended: Cardinal Website by Prof. Salvador Miranda
Voting Cardinals | Non-Voting Cardinals | Cardinals by Rank
Oldest and Youngest Cardinals | Seniority, by Priestly Ordination | Seniority, by Bishop Ordination
Structured View of Cardinals | Structured View of the Roman Curia, before Sede Vacante
When does a Cardinal become ineligible to Vote in a Conclave?
Cardinals per Pope
Notes, Statistics, etc. from the Last Consistory to Create Cardinals

Offices

College of Cardinals
- Dean: Angelo Cardinal Sodano
- Vice-Dean: Roger Marie Élie Cardinal Etchegaray
- Secretary: Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri
Camerlengo (Chamberlain): Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Cardinal Bertone
Vice Camerlengo (Chamberlain): Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata
Senior Cardinal-Deacon: Jean-Louis Pierre Cardinal Tauran
Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome: Agostino Cardinal Vallini
Major Penitentiary: Manuel Cardinal Monteiro de Castro

General Congregations

General Congregations are preparatory meetings held before the conclave begins. (UDG #7-13)

1st: Monday 4 March, 9.3a to 12.3n
102 Cardinal Electors (plus 40 other Cardinals) were present
Particular Congregation established with the drawing of lots. The three assistants are: Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re (Cardinal Bishop), Crescenzio Sepe (Cardinal Priest), and Franc Rodé, C.M. (Cardinal Deacon). (They will serve for 3 days and then be replaced.)
2nd: Monday 4 March, 5p to 7p
5 additional Cardinal Electors were present
3rd: Tuesday 5 March, 9.3a to 12.4n
3 additional Cardinal Electors (plus 4 other Cardinals) were present
That is a total of 110 Cardinal Electors (148 total Cardinals).
4th: Wednesday 6 March, 9.3a to 12.4n
3 additional Cardinal Electors (plus 1 other Cardinal) were present
That is a total of 113 Cardinal Electors (153 total Cardinals).
Only 2 of the Cardinal Electors that are expected have not yet arrived:
- Kazimierz Cardinal Nycz, Archbishop of Warszawa {Warsaw}, Poland
  (expected to arrive in the afternoon of 6 March)
- Jean-Baptiste Cardinal Pham Minh Mân, Archbishop of Thành-Phô Hô Chí Minh (Hôchiminh Ville), Viêt Nam
  (expected to arrive in the morning of 7 March)
5th: Thursday 7 March, 9.3a
Particular Congregation members change with the three new assistants being: Cardinals Béchara Boutros Raï, O.M.M. (Cardinal Bishop), Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya (Cardinal Priest), and Velasio De Paolis, C.S. (Cardinal Deacon). (They will serve for 3 days and then be replaced.)
1 additional Cardinal Elector (plus 1 other Cardinal) were present
6th: Thursday 7 March, 5p to 7p
All of the Cardinal Electors were present.
7th: Friday 8 March, 9.3a to 12.3n
115 Cardinal Electors were present and a total of 153 Cardinals.
8th: Friday 8 March, 5p to 7p
Conclave start date is set for the afternoon of Tuesday 12 March 2013.
145 Cardinals attended.
9th: Saturday 9 March, 9.3a to 12.3n
Cardinal Electors drew lots to select their rooms at Domus Sanctae Marthae
10th: Monday 11 March, 9.3a to 12.4n
Final General Congregation before the Conclave
Particular Congregation members change with the three new assistants being: Cardinals Antonios Naguib (Cardinal Bishop), Marc Ouellet, P.S.S. (Cardinal Priest), and Francesco Monterisi (Cardinal Deacon). (They will serve for 3 days and then be replaced.)
152 Cardinals attended.

Dates, Times, and Details

Pope Benedict XVI resigned at 8p, Thursday, 28 February 2013, Vatican City
Start of Conclave: Afternoon, Tuesday, 12 March 2013, Sistine Chapel
Voting Cardinals in the Conclave: 115 (2 unable to attend, see above)
2/3 Required for election: 77
4 votes daily (2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon)
After 3 full days (i.e. Saturday, 16 March), voting is suspended for up to a full day ("to allow a pause for prayer, informal discussion among the voters, and a brief spiritual exhortation" - UDG #74)
then 7 more ballots and another break of up to a full day
then 7 more ballots and another break of up to a full day
then 7 more ballots and then a break to consider how to proceed
Tuesday 12 March 2013
- 7a: Cardinal electors move into Domus Sanctae Marthae
- 10a: Mass for the election of the Supreme Pontiff (St. Peter's Basilica)
- 3.45p: Domus Sanctae Marthae to Pauline Chapel
- 4.3p: Procession of Cardinal electors from Pauline Chapel to Sistine Chapel
- 5.3p*: Extra Omnes!
- Meditation by Prospero (Stanley) Cardinal Grech, O.S.A.
- One round of voting
- 8p*: Smoke
- Vespers
- Cardinal electors return to Domus Sanctae Marthae
Wednesday 13 March 2013 (regular schedule for a day in the conclave)
- 6.3a: Breakfast at Domus Sanctae Marthae
- 7.45a: Transfer to Pauline Chapel
- 8.15a: Mass in Pauline Chapel
- 9.3a: Lauds in the Sistine Chapel, followed by two rounds of voting
- 12n*: ballots from the morning votes burned, Cardinal electors return to Domus Sanctae Marthae
- 1p: Lunch
- 4p: Cardinal electors to Sistine Chapel
- 4.5p: two rounds of voting
- 7p*: ballots from the afternoon votes burned, Vespers
- 7.3p: Cardinal electors return to Domus Sanctae Marthae
* Rough Estimate
Note: only one "smoke signal" each morning and afternoon. If the first round of voting on a given morning or afternoon is successful (i.e., a pope is elected) then the white smoke will appear earlier.
White Smoke: a pope has been chosen (main bells at St. Peter's Basilica will also be rung)
Black Smoke: no pope chosen
Once white smoke appears, it will be another 30 minutes to an hour until the new pope is named by the senior Cardinal-Deacon at St. Peter's Square. Shortly after that (5 to 15 minutes), the new Pope will appear to give an "Urbi et Orbi" blessing
Daylight Saving Time begins in the US on Sunday 10 March 2013. In Europe it begins on Sunday 31 March 2013. The times listed below assume the US is on DST and that Europe is not.
All times given are local time in Vatican City. For the US, subtract 5 hours for EDT, 6 for CDT, 7 for MDT, and 8 for PDT. See the table below for rough times of the "smoke signals".

Rome Vatican City	EDT East Coast	CDT Central	MDT Mountain	PDT West Coast
12n	7a	6a	5a	4a
7p	2p	1p	12n	11a

Hint: If the smoke is substantially early (an hour or more), it is very likely to be White.

Background Information

Terminology/Glossary
Popes: In Sequence | by Papal Name | by Age at Election | by Age at Death | by Length of Reign
Pope John Paul II, the Great | Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
Average Length of a Papacy: roughly 7.5 years
Diocese of Rome
Conclave - 2005 - Overvew
When does a Cardinal become ineligible to Vote in a Conclave?
Who can be elected Pope?
The Papacy: Some Statistics

Results / The New Pope

Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J.)
is the 266th pope. (265th successor to St. Peter)

Smoke Signals

Date	Time	Result
Tuesday 12 March 2013	7.41p	Black Smoke
Wednesday 13 March 2013	11.38a	Black Smoke
Wednesday 13 March 2013	7.06p	White Smoke
Wednesday 13 March 2013	8.12p	Introduction of Pope Francis

For clarity, 12n and 12m are used to indicated 12 noon and 12 midnight, respectively.

UDG = Universi Dominici Gregis, issued on 22 Feb 1996 by Pope John Paul II. Modified twice by Pope Benedict XVI: 11 Jun 2007 (unnamed Motu Proprio) and 22 Feb 2013 (Motu Proprio Normas Nonnullas). The document on the Vatican website.