What is a conclave: everything you need to know - News + Articles

May 06, 2025

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and nor is a new pope.

It seemed like the world got just a little bit colder and meaner when Pope Francis died. Even rampant atheists like me had to admit he seemed like a pretty nice bloke. Now, cardinals from around the world have descended upon Rome to choose the next pope, and all eyes are on the Vatican to watch for that telltale plume of white smoke, which informs the world that a new pope has been elected.

What is a conclave?

A conclave is how the Catholic Church decides who will next be pope. Members of the College of Cardinals – basically all the cardinals of the church, unless they’re aged 80 or over, or have health problems – come together in Vatican City and, after attending a special mass, are shut away inside the Sistine Chapel, where they’re refused any further contact with the outside world until a decision has been reached. They must also swear an oath of secrecy, and if they reveal anything about what occurs inside the conclave, they’ll be excommunicated.

The cardinals must vote on their chosen successor, and a two-thirds majority must be reached in the vote, or everyone has to go away and think about it, then come back and do it all over again – up to twice each morning and twice each afternoon after that. Each time a vote is unsuccessful, the voting ballots are burned with special cartridges that turn the smoke black, and that black smoke is released from a temporary chimney installed in the Vatican roof to let the waiting crowds outside know that a decision is still pending.

Once a two-thirds majority is reached, the ballots are burned with a special cartridge that turns the smoke white, and the world gets to see that famous plume of white smoke that means a new pope has been elected.

What is the longest conclave?

The conclave will continue for as long as it takes to reach a decision. The longest-known conclave was in the 13th century, when it took almost three years to elect Pope Gregory X. This is in fact where the term ‘conclave’ as we know it comes from – ‘conclave’ comes from the Latin ‘cum clave’, which means ‘with a key’. Locals were becoming so frustrated with the cardinals’ lack of progress that they locked them in a room to force the issue.

Credit: Mowie Kay

What do cardinals eat during conclave?

In the late stages of the aforementioned conclave that took almost three years, cardinals were fed only bread and water to try and hurry them along. Luckily, this is not the norm, and the cardinals can be assured of a decent feed while they’re shut away from the rest of the world.

If you’ve watched The Borgias, you’ll have seen Rodrigo Borgia conspiring with his son to hide messages and bribes in food sent to his fellow cardinals in conclave. Whether this has ever actually happened is unknown, but foods like whole chickens and pies, as well as non-see-through containers, have been banned in the past, just in case. These days, a greater risk is seen as coming from surreptitious electronic devices, like a secret iPhone.

If you’ve seen the film Conclave, you might have been led to believe that the cardinals’ cafeteria is a den of intrigue, drama and infighting, but again this is unlikely to be the case. However, because all cardinals must take an oath of absolute secrecy, no one really knows what goes on during a conclave. They could all just be sitting around, playing poker and waiting for afternoon tea.

What we do know is that during a conclave, every meal is prepared and eaten under close supervision. For this conclave, local nuns will prepare simple regional cuisine, including minestrone, spaghetti and arrosticini, or lamb skewers, as well as other exciting things like boiled vegetables and other types of soup.

How long do we have to wait until we get a new pope this time? In recent conclaves, it’s only taken a matter of days. So keep your eyes glued to that chimney.