Blacked out windows in the Sistine Chapel and puffs of smoke in the air are just a few of the little mysteries behind how a new pope is elected. Here are some fascinating facts about how the Catholic church goes about finding a new pope to lead its faithful followers.
1. A group of cardinals will be voting on who the next pope will be. Each cardinal elector has to be under the age of 80.
2. There are 115 cardinals under 80 crammed in the same space to vote. Yikes!
3. The cardinal electors are behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel
and have to stay in conclave until a new Pope is decided. The longest
conclave took two years back in AD 1314.
4. Women cannot ever become a pope. Sorry ladies.
5. Smoke signals from a very special stove pipe will signal when the
cardinals have selected a new pope. Black smoke means that they did not
select a pope yet, and white smoke means that they have.
6. The smoke is made from special chemicals that are burned along with the ballots. The same goes for the black smoke. Cool, huh?
7. There has never been a pope from the United States.
8. The new pope is announced in Latin. Habemus Papam! Or We have a Pope! (Take that to your next dinner party.)
9. The pope’s first gig is to deliver his an apostolic blessing.
10. There are currently 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world.
