Vatican confirms conclave to elect new pope will start next week

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Vatican has announced that the conclave to elect a new pope will begin on the 7th of May.  While we know when voting will start - there’s no timeframe for when it will end - with experts calling this one of the most unpredictable contests in history.

Transcript

00:00The Conclave to elect the 267th Pope of the Catholic Church will begin on May the 7th.

00:10This vote is surrounded in secrecy. It takes place in the Sistine Chapel where there is a communication blackout.

00:16Only Cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote.

00:20And the makeup of this Conclave is vastly different to when Pope Francis was elected in 2013.

00:25In fact, he has anointed 80% of the Cardinals who will be taking part in this vote,

00:30and is much less Eurocentric, with many of them from Latin America, from Africa, from Asia, Oceania.

00:37Pope Francis was loved the world over. He was a Jesuit.

00:42He stood up for the working class, the poor, the homeless.

00:48This Pope, he was a bit different to some of the others.

00:51You know, he had a humanity, a simplicity that I think appealed to people.

00:55I think that's why it's brought so many people to Rome, frankly.

01:00I'm hoping the new Pope will be a unifying figure, kind of bring everyone together across all countries, races, creeds.

01:06That's what I hope for most. I think Pope Francis did a great job of that.

01:10There are a maximum of four votes that can take place each day, and a two-thirds majority must be reached.

01:17All eyes will be on the Sistine Chapel chimney.

01:20If the ballot is unsuccessful, those votes are burned, and black smoke will be emitted from the chimney.

01:26But if a two-thirds majority is reached, white smoke will be emitted.

01:30The Pope will be asked if he consents and accepts this role, and he will then be asked what his name will be.

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