Conclave The rules for electing the next Pope: Updated with the latest changes

When a Pope dies or resigns, special protocols and rules designed to protect the conclave and guarantee the freedom of the cardinals are activated. In “Conclave: The Rules for Electing the Next Pope”, this crucial process, the Sede Vacante, is explored in detail, from the resignation or death of a pontiff to the emblematic “white smoke” that announces the election of his successor.

The book compiles for the first time the changes to the rites of the Sede Vacante announced by Pope Francis in November 2024. It also sets out the criteria that will guide the cardinals in their choice of the next Pontiff and describes step by step what will happen in the Sistine Chapel when its doors are closed and the cardinals are left alone under Michelangelo's frescoes of the Last Judgment to elect the new bishop of Rome.

What rules did Benedict XVI and Pope Francis change? What criteria will the cardinals follow to elect the new bishop of Rome? How does the college of cardinals decide? Will they look for an African Pope? What is a papabile?

With almost 500 questions and answers, it guides the reader on a fascinating journey through the ins and outs of the Vatican during the Sede Vacante, the period in which the Catholic Church finds itself without a Pope. offering an exciting explanation of the historical curiosities of conclaves, the protocols of Vatican mourning and anecdotes about the inner workings of the Church at these crucial moments.

This edition includes the latest rules announced in November 2024.