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Originally Posted by aephi alum
As for the black smoke, I'd have been really surprised if they'd elected a Pope on the first ballot. This may take a while. Hopefully someone will be in place by Easter.
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Oh, it would definately have been a surprise if someone were to have been elected on the first ballot. But given recent (last 100+ years) history, I'd expect an election by Sunday.
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So I have a couple of dumb questions I haven't been able to find answers to.
- Do the cardinal-electors vote on Sundays?
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Yes. If they vote for three full days without an election, then they go a day without voting. This go around, that means if by end-of-the-day Friday there is no election of a pope, there will be no voting on Saturday, and voting will resume on Sunday.
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- A cardinal-elector has to be under age 80. What happens if a cardinal-elector turns 80 during the conclave? I'm guessing he becomes ineligible as a candidate for Pope, but does he still get to vote?
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A cardinal-elector must be under 80 on the day before the
sede vacante, the day the pope dies or resigns. So, any cardinal who was under 80 on February 27 can participate as an elector, even if he turned 80 before the Conclave started or turns 80 during the conclave.
The person elected pope does not have to be under 80, though. Theoretically/legally, at least as I understand it, any single Catholic male is eligible to be elected. But since the last time someone from outside the college of cardinals was elected was 1378 (Pope Urban VI), and the last time someone not already a priest or bishop was elected was 1513 (Leo X, a Medici -- at that time, cardinal-deacons did not have to be priests or bishops), the chances of it being someone not in the Sistene Chapel are very, very slim.
Of course, until last month, the last time a pope had resigned was 1415 (Gregory XII).
#churchgeek