A Sacred Gathering: The 2025 Papal Conclave Begins on May 7
Vatican City — May 7, 2025
The eyes of the Catholic world now turn to the Vatican as the much-anticipated Papal Conclave begins today, May 7, 2025. With the See of Peter vacant, the College of Cardinals gathers under solemn and sacred rites to elect the next successor of St. Peter, who will lead over 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide.
The conclave will officially commence at 4:30 PM with a prayer service in the Pauline Chapel. Cardinal electors from around the world—those under the age of 80—will assemble and invoke the guidance of the Holy Spirit by praying the Litany of the Saints. Following this, they will proceed in a solemn procession to the Sistine Chapel, the historic site where new popes have been chosen for centuries.
Once inside the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals will sing the ancient hymn “Veni Creator Spiritus”, a plea for divine inspiration. Each cardinal will then take a solemn oath to observe absolute secrecy regarding the proceedings and to uphold the duties of the papacy faithfully if elected.
The gathering is cloaked in both tradition and discretion. All forms of communication with the outside world are cut off during the conclave to preserve its integrity. As per protocol, the famous fumata, or smoke signals, will emerge from the Sistine Chapel chimney—black smoke indicating no result, and white smoke proclaiming “Habemus Papam”—a new Pope has been chosen.
No official timetable is set for how long the conclave will last, but history shows that some elections have concluded within a day, while others have taken several days of balloting. The world now awaits the outcome of these deliberations with hope and prayer.
As the cardinals deliberate in silence and discernment, Catholics around the globe are called to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that the Church may be blessed with a holy, wise, and courageous Shepherd for these challenging times.
Source: Vatican News, Catholic tradition
