By JOE GRIMM
Founder of the MSU School of Journalism Bias Busters series
When cardinals meet to select a new pontiff, they will feel the presence of the late Pope Francis. It will be more than a feeling. Francis selected 80% of the cardinals in the voting conclave, which translates from Latin for “locked room.”
The new pope must receive yes votes from two-thirds of the cardinal electors. Since 1970, cardinals must be younger than 80 to vote. In his final selection on Dec. 7, 2024, Francis created 21 new cardinals. Their average age was 62.5. Twenty of the new cardinals will have a vote. It will take 90 of the 135 votes to elect the new pope. According to the Vatican, Francis has appointed 108 of the electors.
Centuries ago, the number of cardinals was capped at 20. That has risen several times and new limits are often exceeded. Francis’ class of cardinal appointments in December, his largest, increased the size of the overall college of cardinals to 235.
In rules set down by Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, the conclave must begin by 15 days after the office becomes vacant. That will be May 7. The conclave can begin sooner if all electors are present. Side discussions have already begun.
A truly international College of Cardinals
Among the remarkable changes in this conclave is the dominance of non-European cardinals. In fact, this is the first conclave in which the percentage of European cardinals has dipped below 50 percent.
Besides having named most of the electors who will choose his successor, Francis has greatly expanded the geopolitical diversity among cardinals. In 1903, for example, 56.25 percent of cardinals were Italian-born.
As the first non-European pope in 1,200 years, Francis has continued to bring in other continents and reduce the size of delegations from Europe and North America. This is how the Pew Research Center shows recent geographic changes:
- North America accounts for 10%, down from 12%.
- The Asia-Pacific region accounts for 18% of voting-age cardinals, up from 10% in 2013.
- Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 12% of cardinals, up from 8%.
- The Latin America-Caribbean region has 18%, up from 17%.
- The Middle East-North Africa region has 3%, up from 2%.
- And that means—Europe has 40%, down from 51%.
The College of Cardinals has changed politically, too, as Pope Francis followed a more conservative Pope Benedict and his selections reflected that.
Francis also simplified popes’ funerals
Popes change the transition process, and not just voting eligibility. For example, Francis was already planning his funeral soon after his election as pope in 2013. He was 76 at that time. Francis requested that he be buried at St. Mary Major Basilica near Vatican City. Most modern popes have been buried in tombs 5-12 meters beneath St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The last pope to be buried elsewhere was Leo XIII, in 1903. Francis will be the seventh pope at St. Mary Major, one of four papal basilicas.
As pope, Francis visited St. Mary Major more than a hundred times, including before and after each of his overseas trips. He visited more than 60 countries. Francis last visited St. Mary Major nine days before his death during his recovery from double pneumonia.
In his 2024 book, “El Sucesor,” Francis said, “I’ve always had a great devotion to St. Mary Major, even before I became pope.”
As pope, Francis simplified the book of papal burial rites, in keeping with his vision of a church that serves the poor. Francis requested that he not lie in state on an elevated bier inside St. Peter’s Basilica. Instead, he was closer to the people. He asked for a simple coffin lined with zinc rather than the traditional interlocking coffins of oak, cypress and wood.
Archbishop Diego Ravelli, who worked with Francis on the ceremony, told the Vatican News that Francis brought to the readings at his funeral demonstrated that the pope’s “funeral is that of a shepherd and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful man of this world.”
The updated readings reflected revised translations. Saints have been added to the Litany of the Saints that were read as the pontiff’s body was carried into St. Peter’s.
And, like the College of Cardinals, Francis also expanded the range of people who are under consideration for formal recognition as saints.
“100 Questions and Answers About U.S. Catholics: Pope Francis’ Legacy and the Changing Role of the World’s Largest Church” is in production now. It is part of the Bias Busters series, which includes guides about the religiously unaffiliated, Muslims, Jews, Latter-day Saints, Chaldeans, Sikhs and the Black Church with more on the way. All are on Amazon.
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