The silver lance., 1898-04-01

From the Chicago Journal: In view
OF the advanced age and long pontifi-
cate Of Leo XIII, some account of the
method by which his successor VIII be
chosen, although 1t IL hoped that that
event may be In the very distant fu-
ture. will be found interesting. The
meetings of the cardinals held tor pur-
poses Of election are known as Con-
ciaves." from the fact that they are
held behind locked doors-in fact, be-
hind quadruply locked doors-for there
are two locks on the outside which are
fastened by the prince marshal who ia
either a Colonna OF a Chigi, and two
on the inside, which are locked by the
camerlengo Of the Roman church.
The camerlengo. on the death Of q
pope. becomes a very important ssr-
sonage, for on him devolves the DUTY
or proving the death of the pope.
which he does by tapping him three
times on the head with a silver maxct
calling him by name each time, and
then. II the pope be really dead, he
must notify the college to that effect,
and during the interregnum he as
the pontifcal office. In this he is as
sisted by the heads of orders" the
senior cardinals of the three grades of
bishop. priest and deacon.
For many years 1t has been the Gus
tom to hold the election within ten
days after the decease of the sovereign
pontif, but on the death OF Pho Mono,
Leo's predecessor, II was thought best
to provide that the election might be
held at any time. even outside of Rome
and without inclosure. This was
made necessary by reason of the hos
tile attitude Of the Roman government,
and 1t was further provided that any
attempt at interference on the part of
the royalists should annul the proceed
ings. These provisions will hold good
at the next election. 1t is believed st.
Peter designated the first three of his
successors. Afterwards the election
was held by the presbyterian, or coun-
ell OF the bishops of Rome, out of
which the College of Cardinals has
grown. while the clergy generally, and
even the laity, had a voice In the pro-
ceedings. 1t was not even necessary
that the clerk to be elected pope be in
holy orders. John XIX. and Adrian
v. were laymen; Leo X. was only a
deacon, and in the present century,
Gregory XVI. was only a priest. But
after his election the pope is given
various orders. and should 1t be neces-
sary to consecrate him as bishop, the
bishop Of Ostia, who is always dean
Of the College of Cardinals. is the
consecrator. From the time Of Nicho-
las II (1059) the laity have been ex-
cluded from participation in the cleo
tion Of pope. For the past 500 years
the cardinals have elected one Of their
own number invariably, and there is
no probability OF a deviation from this
established custom at the next election.
AS now constituted, the College of
Cardinals consists of six cardinal
bishops, who preside over the suburbic-
an Roman sees: so cardinal priests.
who are the heads Of Roman parishes
and congregations; and IA cardinal
deacons. who are in charge OF the hos
pitfalls and their dependant oratories.
The total membership of the college.
when completed. is. therefore, 70. The
cardinals may also be laymen. al
though at the present time all are in
priests orders at least Cardinal
Henry Stuart, who called himself
Henry TX, by the grace OF God, II not
by the will Of men. king OF Great Brit
ain and Ireland" was only a deacon.
and he was invested with the hat at
the age Of %. History records the
creation of one cardinal at the age of
IL years. The election is held in the
Sistine chapel. When the cardinals
are unanimous in their choice and no
ballots are taken. the new pope is
said to have been chosen by "acclama-
ton" Compromise" and scrutiny"
are the other methods. and It Is prob.
ably by the last named that Leo's sue
cessor will be chosen. All the cardi-
nails who can possibly attend assemble
at the vatican, where a wing Is re-
served for their use. bringing with
them a single chaplain each, and two
attendants. In 1873. including cooks
and minor servants, $50 people were
locked in at the conclave. After a
mass celebrated by the dean, at which
all the princes of the church communi-
cate, the cardinals prepare their bal
lots, folding them carefully seal them,
and then holding them over the chalice
make oath in a loud voice that they
are voting for him they believe most
suitable. Three "scrutinizers" ex-
anime the ballots and the Individual
receiving two-thirds of the franchises
of the members present IL elected
Should the first ballot fail. recess is
taken and the ballots, together with a
wet straw, are burned. The multi
tudes without know by this sign that
no election has taken place. Every
precaution is taken to prevent cleo
from within or without.
Once a result has been reached the
de en- Of the cardinals annnuncas the