From 'conclave' to 'white smoke,' glossary of terms used in papal transition

The process of electing a new pope involves centuries-old rituals and Latin terms, from the conclave to the Habemus Papam.

A change in popes, through death or resignation, is a complicated process, with centuries-old rituals involving the transition in leadership for both the spiritual head of the global Catholic Church and the Vatican’s head of state.

These are the need-to-know terms – some of them in Latin – to help make sense of news in the coming days:

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This is the “chamberlain” – the cardinal in charge of formally verifying the pope’s death – and then sealing his room and study. Between then and the election of the new pope, the camerlengo administers the “goods and temporal rights” of the Holy See. The current one is the Irish-born American Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

There are 252 cardinals worldwide, and as a body, they are in charge of the Holy See’s affairs in-between popes, albeit with limits. Of them, 135 are “cardinal electors,” who gather in the Vatican to choose the new pope. For centuries, they have chosen one of their own. The vast majority of the electors (108) were made cardinals by Pope Francis, according to Vatican statistics.

This is the closed-door meeting of the cardinal electors to choose the new pope in the Sistine Chapel. Its name, literally “with a key,” was used in the 13th century to describe the process of locking up the cardinals until the election is completed. It must begin no more than 20 days after the death or resignation of a pope. The electors are sequestered from all outsiders for the duration; the last three popes were chosen within days.

The current dean is Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. He is the head of the College of Cardinals who informs the rest of the cardinals and the ambassadors to the Holy See of the pope’s death once he learns of it from the camerlengo. He convenes the conclave and presides as the electors take their oaths. Once a new pope is chosen, the dean asks him if he accepts and what name he wants to be called.