in the afternoon. If there is no consensus after three days, voting is suspended for a day of prayer. The conclave is allowed three more rounds of seven ballots, for a total of twenty-one additional ballots, each round of seven being separated by a day of prayer. If, after these three rounds, the Cardinals are unable to come to a decision, the electors may opt to reduce the two-thirds majority requirement to a simple majority. The electors may also choose to eliminate all but the two candidates that received the highest number of votes in the last ballot.
               The process of voting is divided into three phases: pre-scrutiny, scrutiny, and post-scrutiny. In the pre-phase, nine Cardinals are chosen to become—roughly—ballot counters, or Scrutineers. In the scrutiny phase, the Cardinals take their completed ballots to the Scrutineers and take an oath (in the first ballot only), and the ballots are opened and counted by the Scrutineers. In the post-scrutiny phase, the ballots are tallied to ensure the number of ballots equals the number of electors, and the ballots are burnt.
               If the election is unsuccessful, damp straw or chemicals are added to the ballots to create dark smoke, which indicates to the people in St. Peter’s Square that no result has been reached. If an election is successful, the ballots alone are burned, and a white smoke is released, signifying that a new Pope has been elected.
               The pontiff-elect is then summoned into the room and asked if he assents to his election. If he does and is already a bishop, he becomes Pope at once. If he is not a bishop, he must first be ordained. At this time, the pontiff-elect also chooses the name he wishes to carry in office. The last Pope to use his baptismal name was Pope Marcellus II, elected in 1555. The newly elected Pope then goes to a small neighboring room and dresses by himself before returning to the chapel to receive the Fisherman’s Ring (see notes) and homage from all the assembled Cardinals.
               The senior Cardinal Deacon then appears before the crowd in St. Peter’s Square to proclaim the new Pope, and the Pope follows with an apostolic blessing, the Urbi et Orbi (to the City [Rome] and to the World). At this point, the Pope was traditionally crowned by the triregnum, an elaborate three-tiered crown; however, Pope John Paul I did away with this elaborate ceremony in 1978.

* From the Latin cum “with” + clavis “key”—literally, “with a key.” This comes from the fact that the Cardinals are locked in a room with each other until a new Pope is chosen.

** The whole purpose of the Council of Lyons was to reform some aspects of Church administration—a streamlining of sorts. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, and required Cardinals to remain locked up in conclave until a decision had been reached. This was an effort to address the problem of prolonged vacancies in the papacy.

Special consideration must be given to: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conclave and www.osv.com/catholicalmanac/conclave.asp.