Riehl World View: A Concise Overview Of Papal Funeral Rites And Transition

I am not a Catholic, yet the concept of Papal Transition interests me from the perspectives of History, religion, and general knowledge. Perhaps a bit inaccessible for some, including me, I sought to research and write a brief guide as to what to expect in the days ahead as the world prepares to mourn a man, great by any measure, humanistic, religious, political, or otherwise. Perhaps others will find it helpful as well.

Five links of much greater topical depth are located at the bottom of this review.

Upon the Pope's death a specific cardinal, who is also the prefect of the papal household, notifies the camerlengo, the highest-ranking cardinal who served the Pope in a manner similar to the way a Secretary of State would serve a US President.

The camerlengo and the College of Cardinals assume control of the Church during the “sede vacante,” or period of the vacant seat.

The camerlengo gently raps the pontiff's forehead with a silver mallet and calls the pope by his birth name three times. With no answer after the third time, the Pope is officially pronounced dead in the eyes of the church; however, prior to this, the Pope's personal physician has already pronounced him dead.

The camerlengo directs the issuance of a death certificate and removes the Ring of the Fisherman, worn ceremoniously by Popes for the last 800 years. The ring is gold with an image of St. Peter casting his net from a boat. It also contains that Pontiff's name and will be destroyed later by the cardinals.

Autopsies are not performed on popes and no one may film or photograph the pope's body (recording his last words is also prohibited). The camerlengo may, however, authorize a photograph for documentary purposes once the pope has been dressed in full papal garments.

The prefect of the papal household then informs the Dean of the College of Cardinals of the pope's death. It is the Dean's job to tell the other cardinals and then the heads of all the nations the news. Of course, when the current pope dies, most people will hear the news through the media well before this formal procedure is completed. All cardinals (most of whom are archbishops in their home country) are to come to Vatican City as soon as possible after hearing the news.

The Novemdiales

The College of Cardinals makes the funeral arrangements and for nine days (Novemdiales) Catholics observe a time of mourning and prayer. At St. Peter's, Swiss Guards lower their swords in mourning throughout. The Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis (The Order of Service for the Burial of a Pontiff) and any additional instructions having been previously ordered by that Pope guide the ceremony.

The Papal Funeral

Dressed in papal vestments, two layers of white silk are then placed over the pope's head and hands before he is placed in a cypress coffin and also within two others - a middle coffin of lead engraved with the pope's name and the dates of his pontificate, the third or outside coffin is a simple unadorned coffin of elm.

With a closed coffin, the Pope rests in state for only a few days near the entrance of St. Peter's Basilica, though the funeral rites actually last for nine days. The Popes are buried in tombs beneath St. Peter's Basilica and John Paul II has instructed that he be buried between the fourth and sixth day after death.

The General Congregations of Cardinals

One hundred and twenty elector cardinals, who are Bishops having been appointed by the Pope, elect a new Pope, which is their primary role within the Church. They, of course, do perform other functions during a Pope's reign. Cardinals must be of sound mind and under eighty years of age and vote in person to be eligible to vote. Not all Cardinals are elector cardinals. Currently there are 184 cardinals, 121 are eligible to vote. Of those, 68 were appointed by the current Pope and tend to agree with him on major issues.

Currently, the cardinals who are eligible to vote hail from 54 different countries around the world. Sixty cardinals are from Europe (two from the U.K.), 18 are from North America (11 from the U.S.), 18 are from Central and South America, 12 are from Africa, 11 are from Asia, and two are from Oceania (one from Australia and one from New Zealand).

After the Pope has passed, cardinals begin meeting daily; attendance is mandatory for elector cardinals and optional for those not voting. They meet over issues concerning the Papal funeral and the election of a new Pope. Per custom, John Paul II issued formal instructions for electing his successor and includes an oath for the Cardinals at their first meeting.

We, the Cardinals of Holy Roman Church, of the Order of Bishops, of Priests and of Deacons, promise, pledge and swear, as a body and individually, to observe exactly and faithfully all the norms contained in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, and to maintain rigorous secrecy with regard to all matters in any way related to the election of the Roman Pontiff or those which, by their very nature, during the vacancy of the Apostolic See, call for the same secrecy.

Pope John Paul II also set instructions for what is to be accomplished next by the cardinals. These instructions included:

Arranging for the deceased Pope to be brought to the Vatican Basilica for the homage of the faithful.

Making necessary arrangements for the funeral rites ... between the fourth and sixth day after death.

Arranging suitable lodging for the cardinal electors, servants, doctors, priests, etc. and prepare the Sistine Chapel for a discreet election process.

Two ecclesiastics known for sound doctrine, wisdom and moral authority are tasked with presenting to the gathering two well-prepared meditations on the problems facing the present Church and on the need for careful discernment in choosing the new Pope.

They conduct church business, including paying expenses related to the funeral.

Read any designated documents left by the Pope for the College of Cardinals.

Arrange for the destruction of the Fisherman's Ring and of the lead seal with which Apostolic Letters are sealed and sent.

Assign rooms by lot to the cardinal electors.

And set the day and hour of the beginning of the voting process.

Conclave

Between 15 - 20 days after a pope's death, the College of Cardinals meets in conclave to elect a new pope. They are locked away and cut-off until they have elected a new pope. Cardinals are not permitted to have any contact with the outside world (no television, newspapers, letters, or phones) during the papal elections under pain of excommunication.

All cardinals are allowed entry into conclave, even those who do not vote. Each voting cardinal is also permitted to bring a secretary, a servant and a doctor, if ill. All those admitted into conclave that do not vote are sworn to secrecy and also sequestered.

Conclave takes place in the Sistine Chapel, a small room with the famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo, of which Pope John Paul II said, "everything is conducive to an awareness of the presence of God."

Who Can Be Elected?

Any Catholic man in good standing can be elected pope but since 1522 it has been one of the cardinals. Of the nine 20th-century popes, their average age at the time of election was 65 years, with John XXIII the oldest at 76 and John Paul II the youngest at 58. The Italian word "papabile" means "pope-able," but such favorites as deemed so are often passed over leading to a saying, " "Go into conclave a pope; come out a cardinal."

The Voting Process

Keeping with tradition, Pope John Paul II established the following rules for electing his successor:

Maximum number of electors - 120.

A two-thirds-plus-one majority is required for election

Two votes are held in the morning and afternoon, for a total of four per day.

If a new pope is not selected after 12 to 13 days, the cardinals may choose to allow selection of a new pope by a simple majority.

The Balloting

Each cardinal is given a small rectangular ballot with the Latin words Eligo in Summum Pontificem, "I elect as supreme pontiff," printed at the top, he enters the name of his selection in pen below.

The ballot is folded twice, held high, and carried it to the Sistine Chapel's altar. He declares aloud,

"I call as my witness Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who before God I think should be elected."

The ballot is placed on a plate resting on a chalice; the plate is used to drop the ballot into the chalice. He bows and returns to his seat. The plate and chalice are the vessels used to serve the sacred bread and wine in Mass and the method discourages casting more than one ballot.

Counting the Votes

By lot, three scrutineers are chosen from among the electors at each new vote and they sit at a table and count the ballots. The first scrutineer uses the plate as a cover and shakes the chalice to mix the ballots. The third scrutineer then counts the votes without unfolding them. If the number of the ballots does not match the number of cardinals voting, all the ballots are immediately burned and the voting starts again.

If the right number of ballots has been received, the tallying procedure begins. The steps are as follows:

The first scrutineer takes a ballot, notes the name on it, and passes it to the second scrutineer.

The second scrutineer notes the name and passes it to the third scrutineer.

The third scrutineer reads aloud the name on the ballot, pierces the ballot with a needle through the word Eligo at the top of the ballot, and slides the ballot onto a string of thread.

Each elector notes the name that is read.

Once all ballots are read, the scrutineers write down the official count on a separate sheet of paper.

The third scrutineer ties the ends of the thread on which the ballots are placed in a knot to preserve the vote.

The ballots are placed in a receptacle.

After the vote, all the ballots and notes are burned.

If the proper majority has been reached and the elected person has accepted, white smoke appears above the Vatican to inform the world that a pope has been elected. If a pope has not been elected, water or a chemical is added to the ballots so that black smoke appears. The vote is repeated for as long as it takes until a pope has been elected. In 1978, Pope John Paul II was elected after eight ballots over two days.

A New Name

When someone is elected, the Cardinal Dean asks the pope-elect (1) whether he accepts the nomination and (2) by what name he wishes to be known. If he accepts, his pontificate begins at that moment and will continue until resignation or death.

For centuries it has been customary for newly elected popes to take a new name. This began with the election of Pope John II in 533, whose birth name was Mercurius. Mercurius felt it would be wrong for a successor of St. Peter to bear the name of a pagan god (Mercury), so he changed his name to honor a previous pope. In 983, another pope took the name John XIV because his given name was Peter, and reverence for the first pope precluded his becoming Peter II. Some early non-Italian popes chose names that were easier for Italians to pronounce. Since the 10th century, nearly all newly elected popes have taken new names.

The pope's new name symbolizes the new life he enters into upon assuming the throne. It also imitates the renaming of St. Peter (originally named Simon) by Jesus himself. The name chosen by a newly elected pope is usually that of a saint or an admired previous pope. Pope John Paul II, who was born Karol Józef Wojtyla ("voh-TEE-wah"), chose the name John Paul II to honor the previous pope, John Paul. John Paul I, whose pontificate lasted only 33 days before he died, had chosen his name in honor two previous popes, Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI.

The New Pope

Having accepted and chosen a name, the new Pope dons the papal vestments, a skull cap and white soutane. (The Italian family business that makes the papal vestments will have different sizes prepared in advance.) Each cardinal in turn pays homage to the new pope.

The Dean of the College of Cardinals then steps onto the main balcony of the Vatican and declares, Habemus Papam! "We have a Pope!" His Holiness then appears on the balcony and delivers an Apostolic Blessing. After his election in 1978, Pope John Paul II broke the tradition of speaking only the Blessing, adding the following:

Praise be Jesus Christ! Dear brothers and sisters, we are all still grieved after the death of our most beloved John Paul I. And now the eminent cardinals have called a new Bishop of Rome. They have called him from a far country [Poland]: far, but always near through the communion of faith and in the Christian tradition. I was afraid to receive this nomination, but I did it in the spirit of obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ and in total confidence in his Mother, the most holy Madonna.

I don't know if I can make myself clear in your -- in our -- Italian language. If I make a mistake, you will correct me. And so I present myself to you all, to confess our common faith, our hope, our trust in the Mother of Christ and of the Church, and also to start anew on this road of history and the Church, with the help of God and with the help of men.

The installation or "Coronation of the Pope," is held in St. Peter's Basilica. After the Lord's Prayer, cardinals individually express homage to the new pope. They recite their homage, receive the pope's embrace and exchange the Kiss of Peace.

Speed of Thought has a nice round up of Pope John Paul's significant accomplishments. He was an amazing man.

For topical reading with much more depth please see here, here, here, here, and here.

Update: I've seen references that claim the use of a small hammer to tap the Pope's head while calling his name three times to verify his death is a myth. Looking into it, it is not so much a myth, as a relatively recently abandoned practice. Below are three quotes with sources for this information.

Traditions do change, just as recent Popes have abandoned being carried overhead in a throne at the Coronation.

American Catholic, where an editor viewed said hammer in a church related museum: Assistant Editor Susan Hines-Brigger remembers the ceremonial hammer to strike the pope’s forehead to confirm his death. “It reinforced for me the importance of ceremony associated with the papacy. Still, it seemed a bit harsh to strike someone on the head not once, but three times, to make sure he was dead.” (This hammer has not been used since Blessed John XXIII died in 1963.)

American Magazine: As late as 1903, at the death of Leo XIII, this was done by striking the forehead of the pope with a silver hammer. It may also have been used on John XXIII. One colleague remembers a picture in Life magazine (which I have not had time to look for) in 1958 showing Cardinal Tisserant, then Dean of the College of Cardinals, striking the dead Pope on the forehead and asking, three times, "Eugenio, are you dead?" after each stroke, before saying: "I declare that His Holiness Pope Pius XII is truly dead".

The Tablet: The custom of striking the forehead of the pope with a silver hammer to confirm his death lasted into the 20th century but is no longer followed. No autopsy is performed.

Also available at Blogger News.