Joshua Boak

1 month ago | thereport.be | Colleen Barry |Khaled Kazziha |Vladimir Isachenkov |Joshua Boak

The death of a pope starts a centuries-old ritual involving sacred oaths by the cardinals electing a successor, the piercing of ballots with a needle and thread after they’re counted, and then burning them to produce either the white or black smoke to signal if there’s a new leader for the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics. Here’s a look at the process: After the pope has died, the camerlengo, or chamberlain, must certify the death and seal the papal apartment.