The new Pope of the Catholic Church has emerged, and indication to this was white smoke sighted rising above the Sistine Chapel in the Apostolic Palace in Rome, signaling that the cardinals have elected a new pope.
Penpushing reports that the new pontiff will replace Pope Francis, who died last month at age 88, as the 267th Vicar of Christ, while the identity of the new elected pope is expected to be revealed soon.
The smoke was seen rising from the chapel’s chimney on Thursday, two days after the conclave officially began, while the conclave is an ancient process used by the Catholic church to elect a new pontiff.
Penpushing further before getting to this stage of the election 133 cardinals qualified to vote are currently gathered at the Casa Santa Marta, where Pope Francis had lived, and have been casting their ballots in the Sistine Chapel.
The order has it that as part of the procedure, after a pontiff has been elected, the dean of the cardinals will ask him if he accepts the office, and if says yes, he will be asked to choose the name he will use as pope.
Penpushing also reports that afterwards, the new pope will put on a white robe, greet the cardinals, step out onto the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica, and then, a senior cardinal will announce in Latin: “Habemus papam” — “We have a pope.”
The Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, among others, were earlier reported to be top contenders in the election, while it is recalled that Pope Francis was laid to rest at the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, also known as St. Mary Major, one of the four major Catholic churches in Rome.
Penpushing reports that he chose to be buried outside the Vatican, making him the first Pope to do so in 120 years since Pope Leo XIII was buried at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, and before his death, he requested a simple tomb in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
Meanwhile, the deceased pontiff emphasized in his will that the tomb must be in the earth; simple, without particular decoration and with the only inscription: Franciscus’.
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