Pope Elections: The Papal Conclave gets ready to elect new Pope.

[MaxShimba]

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, top center, prays next to Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco on Wednesday during a vespers celebration in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. (Photo by AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The papal conclave, the process by which cardinals choose a new Pope, begins tomorrow in the Sistine Chapel. See the interactive graphic below for more details on how a new Pope is chosen. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9922413/Pope-election-how-the-Papal-conclave-elects-a-new-Pope.html

The decision will be made by 117 cardinals from around the world, and takes place entirely in secret.

The result of the vote is announced to the world through the colour of smoke from the Sistine Chapel.

If the smoke is white, a decision has been reached, and the new Pope comes out to make his first blessing to the assembled worshippers from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9922413/Pope-election-how-the-Papal-conclave-elects-a-new-Pope.html

 

[MaxShimba]

[h=1]'Total lockdown': Vatican preps security for papal conclave[/h]

Joe Raedle / Getty Images​

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet makes his way to Vatican City on Monday. Security is tight ahead of the papal conclave, which is due to begin Tuesday.​

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By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News
ROME - Jamming devices to halt communication were installed at the Vatican on Monday, as part of a security lockdown ahead of the papal conclave.
The behind-the-scenes ballot process is supposed to remain a secret, but modern technology left Roman Catholic Church officials taking no chances.
Staff working alongside the cardinals voting inside the Sistine Chapel must swear an oath of secrecy."I expect they'll be on a total lockdown," NBC News' Vatican analyst George Weigel said. "Security is tight. It's got to be."
Jamming devices will be used at the Sistine Chapel inside the Vatican and the nearby guest residences at Santa Marta where cardinals will sleep during the conclave, officials told reporters on Friday.
After a weekend celebrating mass at their assigned parishes across Rome, all 115 cardinals are preparing to file into the Sistine Chapel tomorrow to begin the selection of the next pope. NBC's Lester Holt reports.

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The move will ensure cardinals cannot communicate with the outside world or use social media. It will also prevent hidden microphones from picking up the discussions.
Any cardinals or Vatican workers –- such as those serving food in Santa Marta – breaching the code face excommunication from the church.
"Even who said, 'pass the salt' is a secret,"wrote Sister Mary Ann Walsh, media relations director for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in a blog post. "In this electronic age, I worry some cardinals may go into iPad and Twitter withdrawal."
To prevent any contact with the outside world, cardinals will also be taken the 750 yards from Santa Marta to the Sistine Chapel by bus.
"The Vatican highly prizes the traditional Conclave secrecy - even more so after the leaks scandal that have plagued it in the past months," said Alessandro Speciale, Vatican correspondent for Religion News Service. "Most of the jamming measures were already in use in 2005, but of course, back then there were no smartphones and iPads. While cardinals will probably take their commitment to secrecy seriously, some of them are avid [Tweeters] and bloggers, and they might risk going into internet withdrawal if the conclave drags on too long."
Weigel added: "It would be difficult for anyone to use a cellphone, even out of sight. With 115 cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, space is tight and it would be obvious if anyone was checking their phone."

[h=1]Slideshow: Pope Benedict XVI's departure[/h]

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The pope delivers his final audience in St. Peter's Square as he prepares to stand down.
Launch slideshow​

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Related:

 

[Cynic]

If the smoke is white, a decision has been reached,

Hawa jamaa inabidi wabadillike. 2013 na moshi wapi na wapi? wanachafua mazingira wakati tweeter & facebook zipo kwa ajili ya kufikisha ujumbe.

 

[BAK]

[h=1]Papal conclave to begin without any clear favourites[/h]Field remains open as Pope Benedict's unexpected resignation leaves cardinals without any obvious 'papabile' leaders

• John Hooper in Rome

• guardian.co.uk,
• Monday 11 March 2013 19.50 GMT
  
• Jump to comments (122)

Cardinal Angelo Scola, the archbishop of Milan, is seen as someone who could take a firm grip of the Roman Curia if elected pope. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

The cardinals of the Roman Catholic church held their last meeting on Monday before the conclave to elect the next pope and used it to try to agree on the qualities they sought in the next leader of the world's 1.2 billion baptised Catholics.

Though two of their number – cardinals Angelo Scola of Italy and Odilo Scherer from Brazil – began as favourites , all the signs were that the field was exceptionally open, and that the conclave could go on for longer than usual in recent times.
Pope Benedict, who resigned last month, was chosen in 2005 in just four ballots. But the cardinals had had months, if not years, to discuss the succession during the protracted illness that led to the death of his predecessor, John Paul II.

This time, the leadership of the church has been caught off guard by Benedict's sensational departure – the first voluntary resignation of a pope for more than seven centuries.
The archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, pointed to another factor: "Last time around, there was a man of stature three or four times that of any other cardinal.

"That is not the case this time around. Therefore, the choice has to be made among one, two, three, four, a dozen candidates. We still don't really know anything. We will have to wait for the results of the first ballot."

Not all the cardinals who wanted to speak at Monday morning's 10th and final session of the preliminary discussions were able to do so, and a vote was taken on whether to hold a further session in the afternoon. It was decided to go straight to the conclave instead, but the episode highlighted the uncertainty that persists among many of the 115 cardinal-electors.

A Vatican spokesman said: "The expectations of the new pope and his profile was a recurring theme" in Monday's speeches. But the cardinals were also said to have discussed the Vatican bank whose president was sensationally dismissed last year.

His removal was one in a long succession of controversies, scandals and gaffes that marked Benedict's troubled papacy. Some of the cardinals put the blame on the Roman Curia, the central administration of the church, and want a pope who can take a much firmer grip on its officials.

Scola, the archbishop of Milan, is seen by many as the man for the job, according to sources close to the deliberations. The same sources indicate Scherer, a Brazilian and member of the commission that oversees the Vatican bank, as the initial choice of the curial insiders.
If he were to be elected, he would be the first non-European pope for well over 1,000 years. Scola would be the first Italian pope since John Paul I who reigned for only 33 days in 1978.

Both factions, however, will have thought of substitutes in case neither man gains momentum in the early stages. Traditionally, favourites who fail to attract a substantial number of votes in the first couple of ballots are swiftly abandoned.
At that point, their backers can either transfer their support to a cardinal of similar outlook or, as happened in 2005, back a less controversial figure of deep spirituality.

Eight years ago, and lacking a fall-back, the liberals who had supported Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, are thought to have switched their allegiances to an Argentinian cardinal, Jorge Bergoglio.

On this occasion, various second-tier contenders have attracted attention. Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, has been mentioned as an option for the curial faction. Péter Erdo, the archbishop of Budapest, would be an appealing alternative for the other side. The Vatican's chief theological watchdog, Marc Ouellet, remains a potential compromise candidate.

There are plenty of others to choose from. Some cardinals have signalled they are looking for someone to cut through the Catholic church's many problems with the offer of a vigorous, optimistic Christianity such as that radiated by New York's Timothy Dolan.

But a senior church source said: "Dolan is just too brash to be acceptable to the Europeans." The traditional wisdom is that no US cardinal is papabile (literally pope-able) because it would mean aligning the world's biggest Christian denomination with its only superpower.
On this occasion, however, the virtues of Sean O'Malley, the bearded Capuchin friar who is archbishop of Boston, have been widely discussed. They include prodigious language skills and an impressively thorough approach to tackling the issue of clerical sex abuse.

 

[MTAZAMO]

[h=1][/h]

Vatican City, 11 March 2013 (VIS) – The “logistics” of the procedures carried out in a Conclave are not established on the basis of personal opinion nor are they subject to passing fads or improvisation. The liturgical tradition—established after the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council—notes with great precision, the norms and rites that are to be followed. These are found in the Book of Rites of the Conclave.

The first aspect that the book highlights is the importance of the Conclave, as it involves the election of the Roman Pontiff. Then, focusing on the Mass that precedes the Cardinal electors' entrance into Conclave, it dedicates an entire chapter to explaining the rites and rubrics of this Eucharistic celebration.

The Second Chapter describes the most significant moments of the ceremony of entry into Conclave, with the specific oath that the cardinals swear. The process of voting and the scrutiny of the votes is also subject to a precise order to be followed exactly as are the preceding and following rituals and the moment of the chosen cardinal's acceptance as Roman Pontiff and his proclamation.

The Book of the Rites of the Conclave ends, at the Fifth Chapter, with the solemn announcement of the election of the Pope and his first “Urbi et Orbi” blessing from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica.

Always in accordance with the Apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis” promulgated by John Paul II, Benedict XVI introduced a few new features to improve the procedure of the Conclave. For example, at the “pro eligendo Romano Pontifice” Mass held the morning of the day that the Cardinal electors enter into Conclave, all cardinals are expected to participate, not just the Cardinal electors.

Another new addition is where the Rite of Admission to the Conclave and the Oaths of Cardinals should take place. The Pauline Chapel has been established as the particular place prescribed for these two acts.

The regulations also state that, for this ceremony, the senior cardinal in the hierarchy—who currently is Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re—will preside over the celebration, which begins with the sign of the cross and the proclamation of the following words:

“May the Lord, who guides our hearts in the love and patience of Christ, be with you all.”

After this brief prayer, Cardinal Re will invite all those gathered to begin the procession towards the Sistine Chapel, where the Conclave will take place, with these words:

“Venerable Brothers, after having celebrated the divine mystery, we now enter into Conclave to elect the Roman Pontiff.
The entire Church, joined with us in prayer, constantly calls upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, to elect from among us a worthy Pastor of all of Christ's flock.
May the Lord direct our steps along the path of truth, so that, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, we may always do that which is pleasing to him.”

After this prayer, the cardinals process into the Sistine Chapel following the minister bearing the cross, the choir, the masters of ceremony, the secretary of the College of Cardinals, and the prelate who will direct the meditation to the Cardinal electors. The procession is ended with a deacon, dressed in alb and stole, bearing the book of the Gospels, along with Cardinal Re and the Master of Ceremonies.

During the procession the cardinals will sing the Litany of Saints—a prayer that has eminent importance in celebrations of the Latin liturgy and that recalls saints of the West and the East—and concludes with the hymn “Veni Creator Spiritus” when they are are gathered in the Sistine Chapel.

A few names that are not customarily recited, but who correspond to the universal Church have been introduced in the canticle of the litany of Saints. These include: the patriarchs and prophets Abraham, Moses, and Elijah; St. Maron of Lebanon; St. Frumencio of Ethiopia and Eritrea; St. Nina of Georgia; St. Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia; St. Patrick of Ireland; and other saints representing various lands such as martyrs of Canada, Uganda, Korea, and Oceania; St. Rose of Lima, Peru for South America; and some Popes, including St. Pius X.

The solemn oath taken by the cardinals inside the Sistine Chapel follows the formula established in the Apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis”. After the recitation of the Common Form of the oath, each cardinal then lays his hand upon the Gospels, and individually pronounces the prescribed form of the oath.

When the last of the Cardinal electors has taken the oath, the Master of Ceremonies recites the traditional formula “Extra omnes” and all those not taking part in the Conclave must leave the Sistine Chapel.

Besides the Cardinal electors, the only others who will be present in the Sistine Chapel are the Master of Ceremonies and Cardinal Prospero Grech, O.S.A., who will preach the second meditation concerning the grave duty incumbent on them and thus on the need to act with right intention for the good of the Universal Church.

After that exhortation, Cardinal Re will propose to the College of Electors to begin with the first ballot of the Conclave.

 

[MABAGHEE]

All the best as you elect our new Pope

 

[MTAZAMO]

Tuombe muongozo wa Roho mtakatifu ili yule adui asijipenyeze!

 

[Adrian Stepp]

Church bells are sounding the alarm for doomsayers and conspiracy theorists here as cardinals convene to elect a new leader for the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.
According to an ancient prediction, this next pope will be the last.
According to NBC News that theory dates back more than 900 years to when Malachy O’Morgair, the 12th century Archbishop of Ireland, had a vision.
Legend has it that St. Malachy, as he is now known, had a strange dream while on a visit to Rome. He “saw” all the names of the future popes – complete with identifying characteristics – who would rule the church until the end of time.
Malachy’s “Prophecy of the Popes,” as his vision is called, named Benedict XVI as the 111th – and penultimate – pope. The vision ended with the 112th pope.
Clairvoyant or crazy?
In his book, “Life of St. Malachy,” St. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote that Malachy was respected as a clairvoyant who predicted the exact day and hour of his own death. At least one 20th century pope, Pius X, was convinced Malachy’s vision was divine, according to Rafael Merry del Val, his biographer.
But theologians and clerics argue there was never an authentic written manuscript. Malachy’s list was curiously discovered in 1590 in the Vatican archives, hundreds of years later.
“There is no historical foundation at all to St. Malachy’s list,” said Roberto Rusconi, professor of the History of Christianity at Rome’s University. “Malachy’s gift was to make other people believe in his predictions.”
Others have taken hold of Malachy’s list and compared it with history.
The first pope, according to the list, would be “from a castle on the Tiber” – for believers, that was clearly Pope Celestine II who was born on the shores of the Tiber River.
Pope Benedict was apparently described as “glory of the olives” and doomsayers point to his choice of the name Benedict, since the founder of the Benedictine Order was also known as Olivetans.
And in Malachy’s vision, the last pope – who will soon be elected – is described this way: “in extreme persecution, the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman…”
While none of the Italian Cardinals are called Peter, one favorite to become Pope is Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana.
Nostradamus: a comet and a lightning bolt
If that was not enough to send shivers down a few spines, Nostradamus, the 16th century French astrologer and seer, predicted much the same as Malachy.

Nostradamus, a mild-mannered healer, was content to mix potions until the Italian-born French queen, Catherine de Medici, raised his profile from physician to prophet.
Nostradamus warned that the next-to-last pope would “flee Rome in December when the great comet is seen in the daytime.”
Taking into account the calendar months were different hundreds of years ago, Nostradamus wasn’t so far off. The Comet ISON, with its 40,000 mile-long tail, has been visible the past couple months as Benedict prepared to abdicate and leave Rome for his temporary home in Castel Gandolfo.
And for those well-versed in the language of brimstone and fire, the signs could not have been more transparent when just hours after Benedict announced he would abdicate, a bolt of lightning struck St. Peter’s Basilica, the very heart of Christianity. A few days later a shower of meteorites fell and devastated a village in Russia.
Cynics shrugged all this off as natural phenomena, while the doomsayers suffered from one more dose of existential angst.
In St. Paul Outside the Walls, another major cathedral in Rome, medallions line the walls with the names of every pope and the dates of his papacy. Legend says that when all the medallions are full, the world will finally end. On the walls of St. Paul’s, there are still some empty spaces.
-Adapted from NBC News

 

[MTAZAMO]

Wengine ktk rika la vijana tunashuhudia uchaguzi huu kwa mara ya pili!!! Kama New Pope akiongoza muda mrefu kama John Paul II ni tukio la mara chache kushuhudia uchaguzi huu.

 

[MTAZAMO]

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Roman Catholic cardinals prayed on Tuesday fordivine help in choosing a new pope, hours before they go into a conclave to elect a pontiff who will faceone of the most difficult periods in the Church's history.
The red-hatted cardinals filed into St. Peter's Basilica as choirs sang ata solemn Mass that traditionally precedes the secret conclave, which could lastfor several days.
Italian Angelo Sodano,dean of the cardinals, called for unity in the Church, which has been rivenwith intrigue and scandal, and urged everyone to work with the next pope.
"My brothers, letus pray that the Lord will grant us a pontiff who will embrace this noblemission with a generous heart," Sodano said in his homily, receiving warm applausewhen he thanked "the beloved and venerable" Benedict XVI.
Pope Benedict abdicated last month, saying he was not strong enough at 85to confront the woes of a Church whose 1.2 billion members look to Rome forleadership. He has secluded himself from public life and was not present atTuesday's service.
The Mass was the lastevent for the cardinals before they enter the Sistine Chapel and start theirballoting for the next pontiff underneath the gaze of the divine presencerepresented through Michelangelo's famous fresco of the Last Judgment.
Only the 115 "princes of the Church" who are aged under 80 willtake part in the vote, which is steeped in ritual. A two-thirds majority isneeded to elect the new pope.
No clear favorite hasemerged to take the helm of the Church, with some prelates calling for a strongmanager to control the much criticized Vatican bureaucracy, while otherswant a powerful pastor to combat growing secularism.
Italy's Angelo Scola andBrazil's Odilo Scherer are spoken of as possible frontrunners. The former wouldreturn the papacy to Italy after 35 years in the hands of Poland's John Paul IIand the German Benedict; the latter would be the first non-European pope sinceSyrian-born Gregory III in the 8th century.
However, a host of other candidates from numerous nations have also beenmentioned as "papabili" - potential popes - including U.S. cardinalsTimothy Dolan and Sean O'Malley, Canada's Marc Ouellet and Argentina's LeonardoSandri.
MANY CHOICES
The cardinals will only emerge from their seclusion once they have chosenthe 266th pontiff in the 2,000-year history of the Church, which is beset bysex abuse scandals, bureaucratic infighting, financial difficulties and therise of secularism.
Many Catholics are looking to see positive changes.
"He must be a great pastor with a big heart, and also have thecapacity to confront the Church's problems, which are very great," saidMaria Dasdores Paz, a Brazilian nun who attended the Mass in Rome. "Everyday there seem to be more."
In the past month, Britain's only cardinal elector excused himself fromthe conclave and apologized for sexual misconduct.
Mexican Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carreratold Italy's La Stampa newspaper there were differing views about who should bethe next pontiff, with some wanting an academic, others seeking someone closeto the people, and others a good manager.
Asked if the conclave could therefore drag on, he said: "I do notthink it will be long ... we will come to an agreement very quickly".
The average length of the last nine conclaves was just over three days andnone went on for more than five.
Signaling the divisions among Catholic ranks, Italian newspapers reportedon Tuesday an open clash between prelates in a pre-conclave meeting on Monday.
The newspapers said the Vatican hierarchy's number two under Benedict,Tarcisio Bertone, had accused Brazil's Joao Braz de Aviz of leaking criticalcomments to the media.
Aviz retorted to loud applause that the leaks were coming from the Curia-- the Vatican's central administration which has been criticized for failingto prevent a string of mishaps during Benedict's troubled, eight-year reign.
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
All the prelates in the Sistine Chapel were appointed by either BenedictXVI or John Paul II, and the next pontiff will almost certainly pursue theirfierce defense of traditional moral teachings.
But Benedict and John Paul were criticized for failing to reform theCuria, and some churchmen believe the next pope must be a good chief executiveor at least put a robust management team in place under him.
Vatican insiders say Scola, who has managed two big Italian dioceses,might be best placed to understand the Byzantine politics of the Vaticanadministration - of which he has not been a part - and be able to introduceswift reform.
The still influential Curia is said by the same insiders to back Scherer,who worked in the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops for seven years beforelater leading Brazil's Sao Paolo diocese - the largest in a country with thebiggest national Catholic community.
With only 24 percent of Catholics living in Europe, pressure is growing tochoose a pontiff from elsewhere in the world who would bring a differentperspective.
Latin American cardinals might worry more about poverty and the rise ofevangelical churches than questions of materialism and sexual abuse thatdominate in the West, while the growth of Islam is a major concern for theChurch in Africa and Asia.
The cardinals are expected to hold their first vote late on Tuesdayafternoon - which is almost certain to be inconclusive - before retiring to aVatican guesthouse for the night.
They hold four ballots a day from Wednesday until one man has won atwo-thirds majority - or 77 votes. Black smoke from a makeshift chimney on theroof of the Sistine Chapel will signify no one has been elected, while whitesmoke and the pealing of the bells of St. Peter's Basilica will announce thearrival of a new pontiff.
As in medieval times, the cardinals will be banned from communicating withthe outside world. The Vatican has taken high-tech measures to ensure secrecyin the 21st century, including electronic jamming devices to preventeavesdropping.

 

[Alvin Slain]

Mungu awaongoze katika shughuli hiyo!

 

[MD25]

Mungu awaongoze katika shughuli hiyo!

Kama vijana wa kiume wanalawitiwa na hao makaldinali, je hao masista watakuwa wanafanywa vipi? Umeshawai kujiuliza???

 

[MaxShimba]

It is on

 

[englibertm]

Wale wenye access na tv ya EWTN mnaweza angalia live process za kumpata papa mpya

 

[SMU]

Process yenyewe haiwezi kuonekana live! Nyie subirini kuangalia moshi tu...mkiona mweupe ujue tayari!

 

[Rock City]

Contenders ni akina NANI ?

 

[englibertm]

Ofcourse kwa sasa wapiga kura wote wapo kwenye ukumbi pamoja na documents zao zote wana kula kiapo pengo naye namwona

 

[englibertm]

Mshindi wana sema lazma apate kula 77 ambayo ni 2/3 na mshindi anategemewa patikana 12 noon kwa sasa za rome

 

[englibertm]

Pengo sasa yupo mbele anakula kiapo

 

[Mimibaba]

Interesting reading