Portal:Christianity/Selected article/June 2006

  A papal conclave is the method by which the Roman Catholic Church fills the office of Bishop of Rome, whose incumbent is known as the Pope, the head of the Church. The electors, when locked together in a room for this purpose, form a conclave, (from the Latin cum clave "with a key") which they are not permitted to leave until a new Pope is elected. Conclaves have been employed since the Second Council of Lyon decreed in 1274 that the electors should meet in seclusion. They are now held in the Sistine Chapel in the Palace of the Vatican.

Since the year 1061, the College of Cardinals has served as the sole body charged with the election of the Pope, the source of the term Prince of the Church for cardinals. In earlier times, members of the clergy and the people of Rome were entitled to participate, in much the same way as the laity helped determine the choice of bishops throughout the Catholic Church during this early period. Popes may make rules relating to election procedures; they may determine the composition of the electoral body, replacing the entire College of Cardinals if they were to so choose.

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