Precise rules govern the period in between popes

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Centuries of experience dealing with the death, or occasional resignation, of a pope has left the Catholic Church with thorough instructions detailing who has responsibility for planning the funeral, preparing for the election of a new pope and taking care of essential business in the meantime.

The instructions are found in St. John Paul II’s 1996 apostolic constitution, “Universi Dominici Gregis,” which was revised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 and again just before he resigned in 2013.

The funeral and burial of a pope who dies in office should take place “between the fourth and sixth day after death,” the document said. The exact date – in this case, April 26 – was determined at a meeting of all the cardinals who were able to reach the Vatican immediately after the papal death.

Conclave date set

The cardinals also determined when the conclave to elect a new pope would begin, although Pope Benedict’s update of “Universi Dominici Gregis” states that it should be at least 15 days from the death or resignation of the pope and can be no more than 20 days since the vacancy of the papacy.

The cardinals set May 7 for the beginning of the conclave. Cardinal electors are those who were under the age of 80 on the day the pope died or resigned.

The April 26 funeral marked the start of a mandated nine-day period of official mourning. For the next eight days other memorial Masses are celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica. The nine-day period is known as the “novendiales.”

With the death of a pope, most top-level Vatican officials – including the prefects of dicasteries – lose their jobs, but that does not mean most Vatican employees get time off. Regular business continues with dicastery secretaries overseeing the steady flow of paperwork, correspondence and meeting planning.

However, the publication of documents, the nomination of new bishops and the approval of statutes for Catholic universities and religious orders are suspended. Anything that must be issued in the name of the Vatican or in the name of the pope must await the election of a new pope and the reconfirmation or appointment of prefects for the various offices.

The two senior Vatican officials who retain their titles and responsibilities are the “camerlengo” or chamberlain, currently U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, whose job begins in earnest when a pope dies or resigns, and the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis. 

The Apostolic Penitentiary is a Vatican court dealing with matters related to the sacrament of confession and to indulgences, so keeping him in office ensures the possibility of absolution for penitents guilty of serious sin and seeking forgiveness.

“Universi Dominici Gregis” also specified that “the almoner of His Holiness will also continue to carry out works of charity in accordance with the criteria employed during the pope’s lifetime.” That position is held by Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, who also is prefect of Dicastery for the Service of Charity.

Everything having to do with the funeral and with preparations for the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor belongs to the College of Cardinals.

Rites spelled out

The rites and rituals used – from the formal verification of the pope’s death to the eight memorial Masses after the funeral – are published in the “Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis” (“Funeral Rites of the Roman Pontiff”), originally approved by St. John Paul II in 1998, but published only the day after his death in 2005.

In late 2024, the Vatican released a newer, simplified version on the orders of Pope Francis.

The physician who directs the Vatican health care service provides a civil certification of the pope’s death, including its cause.

But the ritual verification of the pope’s death takes place in the chapel of his residence and is presided over by the chamberlain, assisted by the dean of the College of Cardinals, the master of papal liturgical ceremonies and the physician.

If it ever was a custom to use a silver hammer to tap on the newly deceased pontiff’s forehead to make sure he is dead, it is a long disused practice.

The chamberlain also is responsible for placing seals on the pope’s study and bedroom and officially notifying the cardinal vicar for Rome and the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Before the conclave, all the cardinals – including those over 80 – participate in “congregations.”

The “general congregation,” with all the cardinals, handles “important matters,” according to “Universi Dominici Gregis,” while “questions of lesser importance which arise on a daily basis or from time to time” are handled by the “particular congregation.”

The document says the cardinals draw lots to determine the three cardinals who will assist the camerlengo by serving three-day terms as members of the “particular congregation.” However, Pope Francis’ apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia, “Praedicate Evangelium,” said that “one of these is the Cardinal Coordinator of the Council for the Economy,” currently German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising.

The general congregation meets under the leadership of the dean, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, and besides setting the date for the funeral and for the conclave, it is responsible for: 

• Ensuring that a commission of their members prepares the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican residence where Pope Francis lived, for the cardinals during the conclave. Rooms will be assigned by lot.
• Preparing the Sistine Chapel for the election of a new pope.
• Assigning two clerics “known for their sound doctrine, wisdom and moral authority” to prepare meditations for the cardinals on problems the church faces and on choosing the next pope.
• Approving the expenditures associated with the death of the pope.
• Arranging for the destruction of the papal fisherman’s ring and the lead seal that had marked Pope Francis’ letters.

Although not as secret as the conclave, the cardinals and those assisting them at the meetings of the general congregation take an oath of secrecy regarding “all matters in any way related to the election of the Roman Pontiff or those which, by their very nature, during the vacancy of the Apostolic See, call for the same secrecy.”

During the general congregation meetings, the cardinals have the services of translators working in five languages.