conclave

A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the Bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. It has the longest dynasty of historical methods of electing a particular head of state that remains in use to the present day.
Concerns around political interference led to reforms after the interregnum of 1268–1271 and Pope Gregory X's decree during the Second Council of Lyons in 1274 that the cardinal electors should be locked in seclusion cum clave (Latin for 'with a key') and not permitted to leave until a new pope had been elected. Conclaves are now held in the Sistine Chapel of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.
From the Apostolic Age until 1059, the Pope, like other bishops, was chosen by the consensus of the clergy and laity of the diocese. In 1059, the body of electors was more precisely defined, when the College of Cardinals was designated the sole body of electors. Since then, other details of the process have developed. In 1970, Pope Paul VI limited the electors to cardinals under 80 years of age in Ingravescentem aetatem. The current procedures established by Pope John Paul II in Universi Dominici gregis were slightly amended in 2007 and 2013 by Pope Benedict XVI.
A two-thirds supermajority vote is required to elect the new pope.

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