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14th November 2025
Conclave Breaks 200-Year-Held Trend!
In a state of affairs proving fascinating to some and alarming to others, the conclave to elect the 267th Supreme Pontiff has become the first in almost 200 years to take place over a week. Most conclaves in recent history have concluded their election of the next Pope after a voting period of around three days– so why is this one taking longer?
A possible answer that many are turning to is the string of terror attacks sweeping Europe that notably affected the Sistine Chapel, in which the conclave voting process is carried out. As Prof. Emily Wilkinson (Durham University, Theology) reassured followers of the conclave earlier today, “This isn’t too unusual yet. The terror attack will have shaken up proceedings, and while we are all eager for a new pontiff to be elected, we should extend grace to the cardinals in its aftermath.”
This response has done little to quell the speculation that has emerged with every billow of black smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. In a time of increasing religious and political instability, many have looked to this conclave with hopes for a decisive show of unity against an otherwise fracturing society. This has not been the case and, reporting live on the ground of St Peter’s Square, you can feel the increase in palpable tension with every inconclusive ballot burned. Everyone here is anxious about division, and everyone has a theory as to why we haven’t seen white smoke yet, from the plausible (such as that there is trouble in narrowing down the frontrunners) to the admittedly absurd (they’re going to elect a certain American VP).
So, in the worst case scenario, how long could this conclave take? The hard truth is this– we could be waiting for a long time yet. In centuries past, conclaves have spiralled out over years, but this is now at least incredibly unlikely. If voting carries on for much longer, a runoff system is implemented so that only the two cardinals with the most votes in the last general ballot are eligible to be voted for. While this should theoretically speed up the process, if both parties have strong factions, who knows how long it will be before we see white smoke!
If you think that this conclave is driving you crazy, spare a thought for the 108 cardinals who are completely sequestered for its duration! To maintain conclave secrecy in the digital age, all of their devices are confiscated for the period of the voting and they’re kept in the dark about outside affairs, so there’s no way for the result to be impacted. Here’s hoping that this wraps up sooner rather than later for them– can you imagine trying to catch up with two weeks of news in the current climate? As much as we'd all love to be privy to the mystery of the conclave process, I can’t say I envy them.
To see live updates on the 2025 conclave, click here.