The Catholic Church will commence the election to choose its leader, the Pope, who is the successor of the Apostle Peter, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, following the death of Pope Francis.

Ghana’s own Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, whose name has come up as one of the frontrunners to succeed Pope Francis, in an old video sighted by GhanaWeb, narrated the events that go into the election of the Pope.

Cardinal Appiah Turkson, who has taken part in the election of two Popes: Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, in the video, explained what goes on in the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave is held to elect the Pope.

His narration echoed some of the scenes in the famous political thriller, 'Conclave', but not all the scenes in the movie were as accurate.

Here are the details on the election of Popes:

Who qualifies to take part in the conclave?

Cardinal Appiah Turkson first said that there was no secret process for the election of the Pope.

He also explained that only cardinals who are 80 years old and below are allowed to take part in the election of the Pope.

“It’s not a secret. There’s no secret anywhere. We talk about mysteries with God, but there’s no secret in anything. When the Pope dies or the seat of Peter becomes vacant, all cardinal electors – that is cardinals who are under 80 years – are invited to Rome. It’s not a question, therefore, of voting by proxy… You need to be there physically.

“Lately, for the past few years, we try to keep a number of about 120 electors. At any particular event, it may be slightly less or whatever. In the last two conclaves, we just had about 115 and 118… So, they are invited to Rome and they come to Rome,” he said.

Pre-conclave meetings:

The Ghanaian cardinal, who has held several key positions at the Vatican, also gave details of what the cardinals do after they arrive in Rome upon the invitation.

He said that the cardinals hold a series of meetings where they discuss the current position of the Catholic Church and the possible solutions to its issues.

“What do they do? They hold a series of meetings for a week or two to try to create a vision about the Catholic Church in the world. What is the Catholic Church in the world today? They try to inform themselves.

“Coming from different parts of the world, each one comes with their contribution about what the church is. So, it’s to create a global vision of the Catholic Church. On the basis of that, they sometimes propose suggestions and solutions,” he said.

He added; “And then they go into prayer, a kind of retreat. Have somebody to come preach, tell them about the importance of their task that is ahead of them, and give exhortation and so on.”

What happens in the conclave?

Cardinal Appiah Turkson explained that when the cardinals get into the Sistine Chapel to commence the conclave, they receive a final proclamation to remind them of the work at hand.

They then swear an oath that they are going to vote according to their conscience and will not allow themselves to be influenced before the voting commences.

“When the day comes for them to go into the Conclave, they go in there, each one dressed in red… when they get in there, the last exhortation, the last preaching is done. A preacher is invited to again remind them about the gravity of the work ahead of them and all of that. When that preaching is done, each one goes to take an oath or express an oath that in the exercise ahead, he will express his position, not influenced by anybody or anything, but by his own mind and conscience.

“Nobody proposes a name. No name is proposed at the Conclave. People come in there, nobody proposes a name. It’s not a question of shortlisting anytime… so, everybody comes and each one goes, one by one, there’s a formula. You swear that you vote according to whatever type of thing, and then you put in the thing (ballot). So, that way, they count also those who are in there,” he said.

Vote counting:

After the voting, Cardinal Appiah Turkson said that an election team is set up to count the votes.

“After that, they constitute the election team. One of the cardinals is made to be the one to read the names on the votes… another one repeats it, and then the second one, with a thread, pierces through that.

“So, each one then goes up to vote. In front of you will be just a list of names with a sheet of paper. You take it and you write the name of the person you want on it,” he said.

The cardinal or any Catholic man who wins two-thirds of the votes at the conclave becomes the next leader of the Catholic Church

BAI/AE

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