THE
INSIDE STORY: ELECTING POPE SIXTUS V, 1585
The
Cardinals entered the conclave. Small
apartments, or cells, had been erected in the long Gallery and hung with Purple
Cloth.
The conclavists are
generally the craftiest fellows that can be met with. To avoid any undue
influence, even the dishes served are
searched, lest there should be any letters concealed in them.
To
become pope, a candidate must receive two-thirds of the vote, which is rarely
the case.
An
alternative way to elect a pope is “by access”. Each cardinal rising from his seat goes and makes a profound reverence
to him whom he would have elected.
The
method which makes the greatest noise
and bustle is the way of Adoration, which is seldom put in practice but when
some young and hot headed Cardinals resolve to become masters of the election. They
plot among themselves, agree on one man, and fall down before him on their knees.
Others
follow suit, unwilling to stand out and
incur the displeasure of him who may be elected without them.
The
pope so chosen is led to the Sacristy, where he is clothed in pontifical robes and seated at the altar. The cardinals
approach in order to kiss his feet,
hands, and mouth. This done, the doors of the conclave are opened, and the pope
shows himself to the people and blesses them.
That
is the prescribed method, but he that
desires a true specimen of all the little arts and tricks whereby the
candidates procure votes, should read the following account…[TO BE
CONTINUED IN MY NEXT BLOG POST].
(Source:
Anonymous pamphlet entitled The Intrigues
of the Conclave at the Choosing of a Pope)
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