How many voting cardinals

The ballot papers are then burned - giving off the smoke visible to onlookers outside which traditionally turns from black to white once a new pope has been chosen. Damp straw was once added to the stove to turn the smoke black, but over the years there has often been confusion over the colour of the smoke.

More recently a dye has been used. If a second vote is to take place immediately, the ballots from the first vote are put on one side and then burned together with those from the second vote. The process continues until one candidate has achieved the required majority.

Pope John Paul II changed the rules of election in Previously, a candidate had to secure a majority of two-thirds to be elected pope two-thirds plus one vote if the number of cardinals does not divide by three. In , Pope Benedict passed a decree reverting back to the two-thirds majority, thus encouraging cardinals to reach consensus, rather than one bloc backing a candidate with more than half the votes and then holding out for 12 days to ensure his election.

If after three days of balloting nobody has gained the two-thirds majority, voting is suspended for a maximum of one day to allow a pause for prayer, informal discussion and what is described as "a brief spiritual exhortation" by the senior cardinal in the Order of Deacons.

At the end of the election, a document is drawn up giving the results of the voting at each session, and handed over to the new pope. It is kept in an archive in a sealed envelope, which can be opened only on the orders of the pope.

The only clue about what is going on inside the Sistine Chapel is the smoke that emerges twice a day from burning the ballot papers. Black signals failure.

The traditional white smoke means a new pope has been chosen. After the election of the new pope has been signalled by white smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel chimney, there will be a short delay before his identity is finally revealed to the world. Once one candidate has attained the required majority, he is then asked: "Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff? Having given his consent, the new pope is asked: "By what name do you wish to be called?

After he has chosen a name, the other cardinals then approach the new pope to make an act of homage and obedience. The new pope also has to be fitted into his new robes. The papal tailor will have prepared garments to dress a pope of any size - small, medium or large - but some last-minute adjustments may be required. Then, from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, the traditional announcement will echo around the square: "Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum His name is then revealed, and the newly-elected pontiff will make his first public appearance.

After saying a few words, the pope will give the traditional blessing of Urbi et Orbi - "to the city and the world" - and a new pontificate will have begun. Cardinals summoned to Rome. Voting rituals. Toribio [ English - Italian ]. Antonio Maria [ English - Italian ]. Paolo [ English - Italian ]. Manuel [ English - Italian ]. Pierre [ English - Italian ]. Alberto [ English - Italian ]. Edwin Frederick [ English - Italian ].

John [ English - Italian ]. Edoardo [ English - Italian ]. Telesphore Placidus [ English - Italian ]. Felipe [ English - Italian ]. Enrico [ English - Italian ]. Lorenzo [ English - Italian ]. Silvano Maria [ English - Italian ].

Donald William [ English - Italian ]. Gabriel [ English - Italian ]. George [ English - Italian ]. Beniamino [ English - Italian ].

Gualtiero [ English - Italian ]. Ricardo [ English - Italian ]. Norberto [ English - Italian ]. Gregorio [ English - Italian ]. Giuseppe [ English - Italian ]. Gianfranco [ English - Italian ]. Domenico [ English - Italian ]. Crescenzio [ English - Italian ]. Leonardo [ English - Italian ].

Andrew [ English - Italian ]. Jean [ English - Italian ]. Juan Luis [ English - Italian ]. John Olorunfemi [ English - Italian ]. Louis-Marie Ling [ English - Italian ]. I [ English - Italian ]. Polycarp [ English - Italian ]. Mauro [ English - Italian ].

Jean-Pierre [ English - Italian ]. Baltazar Enrique [ English - Italian ]. Oswald [ English - Italian ]. Philippe Nakellentuba [ English - Italian ]. Carlos [ English - Italian ]. Robert [ English - Italian ]. Joseph [ English - Italian ]. Vinko [ English - Italian ]. Antonio [ English - Italian ]. Gerard Vincent [ English - Italian ]. Mario [ English - Italian ]. Fernando [ English - Italian ]. Thomas Christopher [ English - Italian ]. Kevin Joseph [ English - Italian ].

Albert Malcolm Ranjith [ English - Italian ]. Mario Aurelio [ English - Italian ]. Wilton Daniel [ English - Italian ]. Marcello [ English - Italian ]. Gerhard Ludwig [ English - Italian ]. John Atcherley [ English - Italian ]. Giovanni Angelo [ English - Italian ]. Raymond Leo [ English - Italian ]. Juan de la Caridad [ English - Italian ]. Peter Kodwo Appiah [ English - Italian ]. Thomas Aquino Manyo [ English - Italian ]. Josip [ English - Italian ]. Daniel Nicholas [ English - Italian ].

Francis Xavier Kriengsak [ English - Italian ]. Odilo Pedro [ English - Italian ]. James Michael [ English - Italian ]. Kazimierz [ English - Italian ]. Timothy Michael [ English - Italian ]. Kurt [ English - Italian ]. Ignatius [ English - Italian ]. Philippe [ English - Italian ]. Dominique [ English - Italian ]. Jose Fuerte [ English - Italian ]. Willem Jacobus [ English - Italian ]. Reinhard [ English - Italian ].

Pietro [ English - Italian ]. Matteo Maria [ English - Italian ]. Rainer Maria [ English - Italian ]. Paul VI declared that after reaching the age of 80, a cardinal loses the right to elect the Roman Pontiff and, therefore, the right to take part in the conclave. In , six cardinals of the Catholic Church will lose this privilege: three from Africa, two from Europe, and one from Oceania. Four of the six were given the red hat by St. John Paul II in his last two consistories, in and The first cardinal to turn 80 years old in the course of the year -- on Feb.

He was made cardinal by St. Pope John Paul II in He was also made a cardinal by John Paul II. Also made a cardinal in , Cardinal George Pell, former prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, will turn 80 June 8. He was given the red hat by Pope Francis in the November consistory. He received the red biretta from Pope Francis' first consistory, held in February The last cardinal to turn 80 in will be Angelo Scola, archbishop emeritus of Milan.

The continental breakdown of the College of Cardinals is that hail from Europe, 54 of whom are electors. There are 16 North American cardinals eligible to vote, out of a total There are nine cardinals from Central America, of whom seven are electors.