In the heart of Vatican City, the pace quickens as the preparations for the conclave to select the successor to Pope Francis gain momentum.
A significant milestone was reached on Friday with the installation of the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, a symbol that will announce to the world the election of the new Pope.
Vatican firefighters were spotted on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, diligently installing the chimney, a crucial step in the lead-up to the conclave scheduled for May 7. The chimney plays a pivotal role in the papal election process, serving as the conduit for communicating the results of the voting rounds to the world beyond the chapel walls.
Following each pair of voting rounds within the confines of the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals' ballots are incinerated in a specialized furnace. The color of the smoke that billows from the chimney reveals the outcome of the vote. If the conclave fails to elect a new pope, the ballots are combined with potassium perchlorate, anthracene, and sulfur, resulting in black smoke. Conversely, if a pope is elected, the ballots are burned with potassium chlorate, lactose, and chloroform resin, producing white smoke.
As reported by Breitbart, the last time white smoke wafted from the chimney was on March 13, 2013, marking the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who took the name Pope Francis. The first Latin American Pope in history, Francis passed away on April 21 at the age of 88.
As the chimney installation was underway, cardinals convened at the Vatican for another day of pre-conclave discussions. These deliberations, which include all cardinals regardless of age, focus on the future needs of the Catholic Church and the qualities required in the next Pope.
Recently, the cardinals have been privy to reports on the Vatican's precarious financial situation. They have also had the opportunity to voice their individual concerns about the future direction of the Church and the issues they perceived during Pope Francis' tenure.
Pope Francis' pontificate was marked by division, with some praising his emphasis on the poor and marginalized, while others criticized him for allegedly causing confusion among the faithful on matters of morality and church law. Conservative and traditionalist cardinals, who are not believed to hold a majority among the 135 cardinal electors, are hopeful that the new Pope will reaffirm fundamental church teachings and bring stability to the Vatican bureaucracy.
Among the voices heard during the pre-conclave sessions was Cardinal Beniamino Stella, who led the Vatican office for clergy under Francis until his retirement in 2021. Stella, according to America, the U.S. Jesuits' magazine, expressed strong criticism of Francis' reform of the Vatican bureaucracy, which allowed women and lay people to head Holy See offices rather than clergy.
This reform, encapsulated in a 2022 constitution, was a significant overhaul of the Vatican bureaucracy and fulfilled a key mandate that Francis received from the cardinals during the 2013 conclave that elected him Pope. However, the reform, which took nine years to complete and aimed to make the Holy See more service-oriented and efficient, has faced criticism.
Francis appointed two laymen to lead the Vatican's communications operation and the economy ministry. More notably, he appointed two nuns to head two of the most important Vatican offices: Sister Simona Brambilla as head of the Vatican office responsible for all the world's Catholic religious orders, and Sister Raffaella Petrini as head of the Vatican City State administration. In her role, Petrini oversees the city state and is responsible for everything from the Vatican Museums, which generate most of the Holy See's revenue, to the firefighters who installed the chimney on the Sistine Chapel.
These appointments were a clear demonstration of Francis' belief in the importance of women playing a larger role in church governance. However, Stella, as cited by unnamed cardinals in America, opposed Francis' decision to separate the power of governance in the church from the priesthood.
The influence that older cardinals like Stella, who at 83 will not be casting a vote, will have on the younger cardinal electors remains to be seen. As the conclave draws near, the world watches and waits for the white smoke that will signal the election of the new Pope.
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