The conclave to elect a new pope, scheduled to begin May 7, is governed by two texts: a rule book and a prayer book.

The rule book is the apostolic constitution, “Universi Dominici Gregis” (“Shepherd of the Lord’s Whole Flock”), which was issued by St. John Paul II in 1996 and amended by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 and again in 2013.

The prayer book is the “Ordo Rituum Conclavis” (“Rites of the Conclave”), which was approved by St. John Paul II in 1998 but was not released until after his death in 2005. If Pope Francis made any adjustments to the rites, they had not been announced as of April 30.

The “Ordo Rituum Conclavis,” which has prayers in Latin with an Italian translation, begins by noting that the election of a pope “is prepared for and takes place with liturgical actions and constant prayer.”

The rites of the conclave begin with the public Mass “for the election of the Roman pontiff,” which was to be celebrated at 10 a.m. (3 a.m. Central) May 7 in St. Peter’s Basilica. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will be the main celebrant.

The Mass for the election of the pope is the only rite in the book to be celebrated publicly before the new pope is presented to the world.

After celebrating the morning Mass, the cardinals gather in the late afternoon and process into the Sistine Chapel.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the highest-ranking member of the College of Cardinals who is under the age of 80 and eligible to enter the conclave, addresses the cardinals: “After having celebrated the divine mysteries, we now enter into conclave to elect the Roman pontiff. The whole Church, united with us in prayer, invokes the grace of the Holy Spirit so that we elect a worthy pastor of the entire flock of Christ.”

The cardinals walk into the Sistine Chapel singing a litany of saints of the East and West and a series of invocations to Christ with the refrain, “Save us, Lord.”

The cardinals then take an oath to “faithfully and scrupulously observe” the rules for electing a pope. Each swears that if he is elected, he will “faithfully fulfill the Petrine ministry as pastor of the universal Church and will strenuously affirm and defend the spiritual and temporal rights as well as the freedom of the Holy See.”

During their general congregation meetings, the cardinals selected Italian Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, retired preacher of the papal household who, at 90, is not eligible to vote in the conclave, to remain inside the chapel to offer a reflection on their responsibilities in electing a new pope. After the meditation, he leaves the chapel.

The cardinals decide together whether they will cast one ballot the first evening; traditionally, they have done so, burning the ballots with a chemical additive that produces black smoke pouring from the Sistine Chapel chimney.

After that, two ballots can be cast each morning and two each afternoon until a candidate garners two-thirds of the votes. On the fourth day, if no one has been elected, the cardinals pause for extended prayer.

Each day of the conclave, the cardinals recite morning and evening prayer together and concelebrate Mass. They have time for prayer before each ballot is cast and before the ballots are counted.

As each cardinal places his vote in an urn on a table in front of Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgment, he promises that his vote was cast for the candidate he believes deserves to be elected.

If the first ballot of the morning or of the afternoon session does not result in an election, a second vote begins immediately, and the two ballots are burned together.

When someone reaches the two-thirds threshold — 89 votes if, as reported, 133 cardinals enter the conclave  — he will be asked by Cardinal Parolin, “Do you accept your canonical election as supreme pontiff?”

The second question asked is: “With what name do you wish to be called?”

The ballots and cardinals’ notes are burned with a chemical additive to produce white smoke and announce to the world that there has been a successful election.

Then the senior cardinal deacon, French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, prefect of the Apostolic Signature, the Holy See’s highest court, goes to the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and declares to the public, “Habemus papam” (“We have a pope”).

Pope Francis made history with his election in 2013 as the first Latin American as well as the first Jesuit ever elected.

He was elected at the age of 76, which seemed counterintuitive after what Pope Benedict XVI had said when announcing his resignation just 30 days prior. The 85-year-old German pope had said that “both strength of mind and body are necessary” to carry out the papal ministry in the modern world.

Pope Benedict was elected in 2005, just after his 78th birthday. Of the 103 popes whose exact age at election is known, Pope Benedict and Pope Francis were two of 18 churchmen elected while between the ages of 71 and 80.

Ambrogio Piazzoni, then-vice prefect of the Vatican Library and author of a book on the history of papal elections, distributed a sheet of “some curiosities” about the elections to reporters in 2013, after Pope Benedict announced his resignation and before Pope Francis was elected.

On the topic of the age of the pope at election, he said:

• Three popes were under the age of 25. The last was Pope Gregory V, who was 24 when elected in 996.
• Seven were between 25 and 40 years old. The last was Pope Leo X, who was 37 in 1513.
• Eleven were between 41 and 50. The last was Pope Clement VII, who was elected in 1523 at the age of 44.
• 24 popes were in their 50s. The most recent was Blessed John Paul II, who was 58 years old when he began his papal ministry in 1978.
• 37 were between 61 and 70 years old. The last was Pope John Paul I, who was 65 when he began his 33-day papacy in 1978.
• Only three popes were over 80 when elected. The last, chosen by cardinals in 1406, was Pope Gregory XII. He was 81.

FAMOUS LASTS

Piazzoni also provided a list of “lasts”:

• The last pope who was not a cardinal yet when elected was Pope Urban VI in 1378.
• The last who was not even a priest yet was Pope Leo X.
• The last born in Rome was Pope Pius XII, elected in 1939. He was also the last serving Vatican secretary of state elected.
• The last African was Pope Gelasius, elected in 492.
• The last Frenchman elected was Pope Gregory XI in 1370.
• The last Greek was Pope Zachary in 741.
• The last Englishman was Pope Adrian IV in 1154.
• The last Italian was Pope John Paul I in 1978.
• The last Dutchman was Pope Adrian VI in 1522.
• The last Palestinian was Pope Theodore in 642.
• The last Pole was Pope John Paul II in 1978.
• The last Portuguese was Pope John XXI in 1276.
• The last Syrian was Pope Gregory III in 731.
• The last Spaniard was Pope Alexander VI in 1492.
• The last German was Pope Benedict XVI. When he was elected in 2005, it had been 950 years since a German — Pope Victor II — had been elected.

After the deaths or resignations of their predecessors, the last six popes have been elected within a fairly short period of time — between two and three weeks.

• St. John XXIII died June 3, 1963, and his funeral was held June 6. The conclave to choose his successor began June 19 and lasted two days. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, who took the name Paul VI, was elected June 21. He was installed June 30.
• St. Paul VI died Aug. 6, 1978, and his funeral was held Aug. 12. The conclave to choose his successor began Aug. 25. A day later, Aug. 26, the cardinals elected Cardinal Albino Luciani, who chose the name John Paul I. He was installed Sept. 3.
• Blessed John Paul I died less than a month later, on Sept. 28, 1978, and his funeral was held Oct. 4. The conclave to choose his successor began Oct. 15 and Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was elected on the second day of voting, Oct. 16. Pope John Paul II was installed Oct. 22.
• St. John Paul II died April 2, 2005, and his funeral was celebrated April 8. Under the leadership of its dean, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the College of Cardinals entered the conclave April 18 and elected the dean as pope the next day. He took the name Pope Benedict XVI and inaugurated his pontificate April 24.
• Pope Benedict XVI announced Feb. 11, 2013, that he was resigning effective Feb. 28. Most of the world’s cardinals gathered in Rome in time to thank him for his service and almost immediately began their pre-conclave meetings. The electors solemnly entered the Sistine Chapel and began the conclave March 12. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected March 13 on the fifth ballot and took the name Pope Francis. He inaugurated his papacy March 19. Pope Benedict died Dec. 31, 2022, and Pope Francis presided at his funeral Jan. 5, 2023.
• Pope Francis died April 21, and his funeral was scheduled for April 26. A date for the conclave had not been announced as of April 22.

The period between popes is called an interregnum — between reigns — even though St. Paul VI set aside many of the regal trappings of the papacy and references to a papal “reign” gradually fell into disuse. Pope Paul inaugurated his ministry in 1963 with a coronation, then set aside the papal tiara. It was the last time a pope wore the beehive-shaped tiara, a triple crown.

Every parish is challenged with bringing together groups of individuals of varying ages and cultures to worship and serve. This can be especially true for a parish on a college campus at the service of students, young families and longtime parishioners all coming together to worship.

At St.Thomas Aquinas University Parish, on the University of Arkansas campus, one women’s group is working to find ways to serve the students and the surrounding parish community they call home.

The St. Phoebe ministry group — 11 women strong — began as a grassroots parish organization in 2022 to serve the students. With the goal of creating and organizing events, liturgies and programs, members aim to fill in the gaps and provide services to the community. 

Following the synodal process set forth by Pope Francis, they also see their ministry as an example of how parishioners can accompany and work with the clergy and staff to discern God’s will.

“We saw there were more and more non-students attending our church; returning alumni, graduate and international students, faculty and staff of the university were all a part of the growing population at St. Thomas,” said Anne Marie Candido, co-chair of the St. Phoebe service organization.

Named after St. Phoebe, widely recognized as the first woman deacon and a generous contributor to St. Paul’s ministry, the organization seeks to follow in her footsteps and honor her.

Founding member Margot Martin gave a substantial gift that kickstarted the group’s charitable giving. The Margot Martin Endowment Account helps with initiatives that foster or reflect inclusivity. Martin especially wanted to help students and parishioners in the margins and to help those who cannot help themselves. 

Through her endowment, large donations have been made to Canopy, an organization that supports refugee resettlement in northwest Arkansas, the M&N Augustine Foundation and 7 Hills Homeless Day Shelter. 

Kim Jones, acting co-chair, remembers when her dad was on UA faculty in the 1970s, the parish was a family parish. 

“I was married at the parish in 1987,” she said, “I raised my family in Bentonville, then moved to Springdale to go to work at the University of Arkansas campus and decided to make St. Thomas my home parish again.” 

Jones said the St. Phoebe ministry tries not to overlap with other ministries. She said the group operates with the questions, “How am I called to live out my faith in this place that God put me? and “How can we best serve the students and live out the faith?”

Since 2022, they have implemented regular Meet & Greets and made $1,000 donations to community organizations such as the Campus Pantry and two Arkansas parishes in need. They have also offered a fall discussion series on Catholic Social Justice teachings and Bible studies and donated children’s books, rosaries and a medical kit for the Masses. 

They also offered financial support to female students who want to attend discernment retreats and for students going on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic this summer.

Since the old St. Thomas Aquinas church was razed and Mass and parish activities were relocated to the Student Union Theatre, the group helps with setting up the altar and serving as sacristans, lectors, ushers and greeters.

Candido said the St. Phoebe group is also doing what they can with the newly constructed church by pledging $5,000 for a stained glass window of St. Catherine of Siena, a doctor of the Church. 

“In the old church,” she said, “there were no windows depicting women of the Church, and we wanted to be able to make this contribution.”

Pastor Father Jason Sharbaugh said he is thankful for the St. Phoebe group. 

“The parish is unique in that it is specific to campus ministry focused on what is such an important time in student’s lives away from home and also decision-making in life. To have a stable parish group provide examples is part of reciprocal grace,” he said.

Every 25 years, we Catholics celebrate a special Jubilee year. Some of you may remember the Jubilee 2000 under Pope John Paul II. 

Pope Francis has decided that the theme for our Jubilee in 2025 will be “Pilgrims of Hope” and that this year’s Jubilee will begin today on the feast of the Holy Family. The focus of any jubilee is on forgiveness and reconciliation, but by having it begin on the feast of the Holy Family, who were forced to flee to Egypt and live there for a time as refugees, Pope Francis is making it clear that a major focus of this Jubilee is on the plight of migrants. 

This theme is very timely in many parts of the world, including here in the United States, where we have a broken immigration system and the threat of massive deportations of people who are simply exercising their God-given right to immigrate when circumstances so require — a right which is intrinsic to the human person, and so does not derive from the state. The state can regulate the exercise of this right for the common good, but no government has the authority to deprive us of our God-given rights nor to apply them in a selective or discriminatory manner.

Sixteen years ago, I issued a pastoral letter on the human rights of immigrants, titled “I was a Stranger, and You Welcomed Me.” Believe it or not, this document is not outdated because little has changed in the last 16 years. This pastoral letter can be downloaded from our diocesan website, and hard copies are available from the diocese. I recommend that as “pilgrims of hope,” you study this document as part of your observance of this Jubilee Year. 

You will see what Scripture and the Church have to say on this important topic, a message that is in many ways the opposite of what we often see on the news. By having this Jubilee Year begin on the feast of the Holy Family, our focus is also directed to the challenges we face in our families and to consider what we can do to strengthen our marriages and our family ties. 

In our first reading today, we have the story of the conception, birth and vocation of the prophet Samuel. His mother, Hannah, made a promise that her son would belong to God as a Nazirite, and she went so far as to entrust him to the prophet Eli from his earliest childhood. She reminds us that our children belong to God as well, and our homes need to be places where holiness and forgiveness are nurtured and virtues fostered from earliest childhood. 

In our second reading, John reminds us that we are “children of God,” and he reminds us that this may result in a certain amount of incomprehension in our dealings with the larger society. He says, “The reason the world does not know us” — understand who we are — “is that it did not know him” — meaning Jesus and all he stands for. And so, we also can expect to encounter opposition when faithfulness to Jesus requires us to give voice to unpopular truths.

And in our Gospel, we have Jesus left behind in the Temple discussing theology with the teachers there while his parents spend three days full of worry, searching for him frantically. The emotions were obviously high when they found him, and I’ll bet they found his explanation hard to take: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? 

In my family, that would have led to an opportunity to go to confession, which is another focus of our Jubilee Year. And this year if you visit one of our specially designated Jubilee Churches as a pilgrim and pray there for the intentions of the Holy Father, and then go to confession and receive Communion in any Catholic church, you will get a plenary indulgence.

This feast of the Holy Family speaks to both the public and private sides of what it means to be “Pilgrims of Hope.” In the public sphere, there is our obligation to advocate for human rights and thus provide assistance to our immigrants, regardless of how they came here — no one immigrates because things are going great in the old country. And in the private sphere, we are called to foster holiness, forgiveness and reconciliation personally and in our families.

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor delivered this homily Dec. 29 at the Cathedral of St. Andrew.