New American Faces Could Change Who Is Elected Pope

American participation in conclaves is still relatively new in Church history. The first American cardinal was named in 1875, John McCloskey of New York. He had the opportunity to be the first American to vote in a conclave three years later after the death of Pope Blessed Pius IX. Cardinal McCloskey’s ship arrived too late for him to enter the conclave, however, so the honor of being first fell to Cardinal James Gibbons, archbishop of Baltimore, who voted in the 1903 conclave that elected Pope St. Pius X.

Reaching Rome in time to enter the Sistine Chapel proved a challenge for the non-European cardinals in the early 20th century. And so, when several cardinals, including Americans Denis Dougherty of Philadelphia and William O’Connell of Boston, arrived too late again to join the conclave in 1922, the newly elected Pope Pius XI extended the time period between the death of a pope and the start of the election.

The Vatican raised the possibility Saturday that the conclave to elect the next pope might start sooner than March 15, the earliest date possible under current rules that require a 15 to 20 day waiting period after the papacy becomes vacant. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said that Vatican rules on papal succession are open to interpretation and that “this is a question that people are discussing.” Any change to the law itself would have to be approved by the pope before he resigns.

The 15 to 20 day waiting period is in place to allow time for all cardinals who don’t live in Rome to arrive, under the usual circumstance of a pope dying. But in this case the cardinals already know that this pontificate will end Feb. 28, with the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, and therefore can get to Rome in plenty of time to take part in the conclave, Lombardi said.

The date of the conclave’s start is important because Holy Week begins March 24, with Palm Sunday Mass followed by Easter Sunday on March 31. In order to have a new pope in place in time for the most solemn liturgical period on the church calendar, he would need to be installed by Sunday, March 17, because of the strong tradition to hold installation Mass on a Sunday. Given the tight time frame, speculation has mounted that some arrangement would be made to start the conclave earlier than a strict reading of the law would allow.

Since then, Americans have taken part in every conclave, with the size of the American contingent increasing over the decades. Nine Americans took part in the October 1978 conclave that elected Pope John Paul II, and there were 11 cardinals in 2005, matching today’s total.

These 11 are  current seated Bishops that are active and not retired that will vote:

Raymond Leo Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

Daniel Nicholas DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston

Timothy Michael Dolan, archbishop of New York

Francis Eugene George, O.M.I., archbishop of Chicago

James Michael Harvey, archpriest of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls Basilica in Rome

William Joseph Levada, prefect-emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Roger Michael Mahony, archbishop emeritus of Los Angeles

Edwin Frederick O’Brien, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem

Sean Patrick O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap., archbishop of Boston

Justin Francis Rigali, archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia

Donald William Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, D.C.

Now, this really changes the picture! Media speculation has also centered on whether an American might be a serious candidate to be elected pope in this conclave. As a staunch Roman Catholic I will dare say the following: THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

The Diocese of Rome will be “sede vacante” or vacant at 8 p.m. on Feb. 28, when Pope Benedict’s resignation goes into effect.

The laws governing conclaves were laid down in 1996 in John Paul II’s apostolic constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis,” and were modified by Pope Benedict. According to existing law, the conclave cannot start until 15 days after the Papacy becomes vacant, to allow all the cardinal-electors enough time to arrive in Rome.

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