22 April 2025
(Photo: britannica.com)
On April 21, 2025, Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died. He was the first pope in history from the New World and the first pope not from Europe in more than 1200 years.
He was born in Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936, to an Italian immigrant, a railroad worker Mario Jose Bergoglio and his wife Regina Maria Sivori. He was the youngest of five children. He taught literature, philosophy, and theology at three Catholic colleges in Buenos Aires. In addition to Spanish, he was fluent in Italian and German.
Pope Francis said that long before he felt the ability to convert people to the church, he worked as a bouncer in a nightclub in Argentina, as well as a janitor and a laboratory technician.
He was elected pope on March 13, 2013. The Pope took the name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi.
The use of this name is the first in the history of the papacy, and Francis decided not to use the number I. His name will be accompanied by a number only when and if a pope named Francis II appears in the future. Francis became the first pope to represent the Jesuit Order.
The procedure for electing a pope, or conclave, is one of the most mysterious and solemn traditions of the Catholic Church. The word "conclave" comes from the Latin cum clave, which means "under key," emphasizing the isolation of the cardinals during the election.
After the death or abdication of the pope, cardinals under the age of 80 gather in the Vatican to elect a new pontiff. Usually, this happens 15-20 days after the throne is declared vacant. The voting takes place in the Sistine Chapel, where the cardinals are sworn to secrecy and isolated from the outside world.
Voting is secret and takes place twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. Each cardinal fills out a ballot with the inscription Eligo in Summum Pontificem ("I elect the supreme pontiff") and writes the name of the candidate. To elect a new pope, two-thirds of the votes must be cast.
Pontiff (Latin: pontifex, from pons, pontis - "bridge, platform" and facere - "to do") is the title of the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope. In Ancient Rome, a pontiff was a member of the highest priestly college (3-15 members) who was in charge of national religious rites, calendar, list of consuls, etc. Among the pontiffs, the Great Pontiff (Latin: Pontifex Maximus) played the main role. There was also a College of Pontiffs, which consisted of the Great Pontiff, the Chief Vestal, the Holy King (Latin: rex sacrorum), and the flamines.
After each round of voting, the ballots are burned in a special furnace. Black smoke indicates that the pope has not been elected, white smoke indicates that the election has taken place. After the election of the new pontiff, the cardinal protodeacon announces from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica: "Habemus Papam!", translated: "We have a pope!"
The 45-year-old Ukrainian bishop of Melbourne will be one of the highest Catholic officials in the world who will vote for the election of the next pontiff. This was reported by TSN with reference to The Guardian.
Mykola Bychok. Photo: Wikipedia
Nicholas Bychok, the highest-ranking Catholic official in Australia after Francis made him a cardinal late last year, is now on his way to the Middle East for a pilgrimage, but will travel to Rome for a funeral and then to the papal conclave. In a statement, Cardinal Bychok paid tribute to Francis.
The Pope is elected for life. However, in recent decades, there have been cases of abdication. Pope Benedict XVI abdicated in 2013 for health reasons, the first such case in more than 600 years.
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