Papal conclave

Elections have since the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church been employed to fill the office of Bishop of Rome, whose incumbent is informally (but usually) referred to as the Pope. A meeting of clergymen held to select the Pope is referred to as a Conclave. The term comes from the Latin phrase cum clavi ("with a key"), referring to the "locking away" of the electors during the process. Conclaves have been employed since Second Council of Lyons decreed in 1274 that the electors should meet in seclusion. They are held the Sistine Chapel in The Vatican.

Since the beginning of the second millenium CE, the College of Cardinals has served as the body charged with the election of the Pope. In earlier times, members of the clergy and the people of Rome were entitled to participate. Popes may make rules relating to election procedures; they may determine the composition of the electoral body, replacing the College of Cardinals if they so please. They may not, however, designate their successors.

Historical development

Electorate

It is probable that the early Bishops of Rome were elected in the same manner as all other bishops at the time: by the clergy and laity of the see and the bishops of neighbouring dioceses. St Cyprian writes that his contemporary, St Cornelius, was elected Pope in 251 "by the testimony of nearly all the clergy, by the college of aged bishops and of good men." Some historians and canonists have offered alternative theories; for example, several scholars suggest that the laity was excluded until the fourth century. The canonist Lucius Ferraris suggests that St Peter the Apostle ordained an council, comprising twenty-four priests and deacons, which was charged with advising the Pope and electing his successor.

A Synod of the Lateran held in 769 excluded the laity from the electorate, but in 862, a Synod of Rome restored Roman nobles to the body. A major change came in 1059, when Nicholas II decreed that the cardinals were to elect a candidate, who would take office after receiving the assent of the clergy and laity. The most senior cardinals—the cardinal-bishops—were to meet first and discuss the candidates before summoning the cardinal-priests and cardinal-deacons for the actual vote. A Synod of the Lateran held in 1139 removed the requirement that the assent of the lower clergy and the laity be obtained.

The size of the College of Cardinals was limited in 1587 to seventy. In 1970, Paul VI ousted cardinals over the age of eighty from the electorate.