The College of Cardinals will meet and vote to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church.
SAN ANTONIO — Who will lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics? It’s a question 133 cardinals will soon answer and pray about behind closed doors. They will do so in total lockdown for compete secrecy.
All eyes are on the Vatican as the College of Cardinals will meet and vote to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church. The conclave will begin on Wednesday.
St. Mary’s University Director of the Center for Catholic Studies Jason King said there are a lot of mixed emotions going into the process.
“I think most people are excited,” King said. “I think there is a little bit of anxiety too. A lot of people love Pope Francis, so I think they’re hoping that somebody like him will be the successor.”
On Wednesday, the cardinals will take their own oath inside the Sistine Chapel. According to reports, one vote is expected Wednesday evening and then voting will happen four times daily.
“There will be some conversations,” King said. “I think it will mostly be prayer, not like groups getting together and campaigning and subcommittees. But, more of a reflective kind of piece.”
King also talked about the makeup of the cardinals, which are coming from 70 countries.
“It’s the most diverse set of cardinals we’ve had in the church,” he said. “It has been starting in the trajectory for a long time. But sort of with Francis, it moved ahead. He intended to emphasize cardinals that were pastorally important and caring for people.”
While there won’t be another Pope Francis, King said he expects for someone to be selected with a similar style.
“We want to look at things as kind of as this horse race, who is going to win? who is going to get ahead?” he said. “We want to say who is going to get this sort of job but it is not a good way to think about this. I think it is more of a hope of wanting someone that can really embody and show God’s love.”
Each cardinal votes by a secret ballot and a two-thirds majority vote is needed. Everyone’s eyes will be on the chimney as well for the smoke signals: black smoke means voting is still in process and white smoke means a new leader has been chosen and has accepted the role.