Catholic Fire

This is an amazing video compiled by Catholic Vote :

Just moments after being elected, the new Pope of the Catholic Church, Francis I, gave his first Papal 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing as he stood on the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square.   Francis I said that during the conclave the papal electors wanted someone from farther away but with the qualities of Benedict XVI. Before imparting his blessing, the new Pope asked the people to pray for him and his task ahead.   The new leader of the Catholic Church also said a few words to the thousands of people who came out to greet him. Giving a short improvised speech, was actually a tradition that John Paul I began when he was elected. From CNA : - Pope Francis began his first words to the Church by saying that the cardinals “went to the end of the world” to find the new Bishop of Rome. “Brothers and Sisters, good evening. You know that the charge of the conclave was to give a bishop of Rome. “It would seem that my brothers went to the end of the world to choose him,...

March 12, 2013. (Romereports.com) No agreement was reached Tuesday afternoon, as cardinal electors finished their first voting round. Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square, waiting to see if the famous smoke, emerging from the roof of the Sistine Chapel, was white or black.   As expected, at roughly 8pm Rome time, black smoke came out of the chimney, as the world watched on. Black smoke means a Pope was not elected, meaning no cardinal received 77 votes or more. The next time smoke will emerge from the Sistine Chapel, will be Wednesday, at around noon. If no Pope has been elected, Cardinal electors will have a second voting round on Wednesday afternoon, at around 5pm. The results of that voting round are expected at roughly 7pm Rome time.

March 11,2013 (Romereports.com) Over the course of the next few days, the cardinals will adhere to an established schedule for the Conclave, as thousands of faithful patiently wait for their voting results. Their set schedule will officially begin on Tuesday at 7 a.m., when the cardinals are required to move in to Domus Santae Marthae for the duration of the conclave, and will end until a new Pope is chosen. Schedule for first day, Tuesday: 7:00 a.m.: Cardinals move in to Santa Marta 10:00 a.m.: Pro Eligendo Pontifice Mass at St.                   Peter's Basilica 3:45 p.m.: Depart from Hotel to Apostolic  Palace 4:30 p.m.: Procession from Pauline to Sistine Chapels 4:45 p.m.: Swear-in ceremony, meditation and first vote by cardinals 7:15 p.m.: Vespers (prayer) at Sistine Chapel 7:30 p.m.: Return to Santa Marta 8:00 p.m.: Dinner After the first vote is taken on Tuesday evening, the first fumata, or smoke, is expected...

Father Barron and Jack Thornton have landed in the Eternal City, preparing to report for NBCNews and MSNBC on the upcoming conclave. In this video, Father Barron shares the Word From Rome regarding who is to be the successor of Peter and next shepherd of the Catholic Church. What are Catholics discussing around and about the Vatican City walls? Find out here.

Saturday morning, workers had already installed the chimney over the Sistine Chapel that will let the world know when a new Pope is chosen. In the past few days, Vatican handymen were hard at work preparing the inside of the Sistine Chapel for the papal election. One of the last steps was to install the chimney, visible all the way from St. Peter's Square. It's connected to two stoves inside the chapel, where the cardinals will lock themselves in starting Tuesday, March 12. The first smoke signal will come out of the chimney on Tuesday evening. Then, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon on Wednesday. The smoke will be black for each failed vote, and white when one of the cardinals gets the 77 votes needed to become Pope.

After five days of meetings, the College of Cardinals has voted to hold a conclave to elect the next Pope on Tuesday, March 12. "The eighth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals has decided that the Conclave will begin on Tuesday, 12 March 2013," Father Federico Lombardi said in a March 8 message to reporters. The cardinals will celebrate a Mass For the Election of a New Pope in St. Peter's Basilica in the morning and "in the afternoon the cardinals will enter into the Conclave," he confirmed. Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam arrived in Rome on Thursday afternoon and with his presence the College of Cardinals reached its full number. The cardinals were able to choose an earlier date than was previously allowed under Church regulations because Benedict XVI issued a declaration to make that possible. In the 2005 conclave that elected Benedict XVI as Pope, there were 115 cardinals voting and that number is the...

March 7, 2013. (Romereports.com)  It seems like cardinals are in no hurry to lock in a date for the conclave. On the fourth day of their general discussion meetings, they talked about  economics. So the three cardinals who oversee the Holy See's financial department talked about the last report. Out of the 115 cardinal electors, 114 took part in the meeting. Vietnamese Cardinal Pham Minh Man, had not yet arrived, perhaps halting the selection of when the conclave will start. FR. FEDERICO LOMBARDI Vatican spokesman “I think it's very normal and natural that they haven't decided on a date yet. This means that when a date is chosen they won't really need that much more time for reflection and discussion. It will mean that they are prepared for the coming decision.” On Thursday morning, 16 cardinals spoke during the meeting. The topics included ecumenism, charitable works and the fight against poverty. But the core issues are still new new evangelization, mana...

March 6, 2013. (Romereports.com) The big question is, when will the conclave start? As of Wednesday, a date has not been set, but the Sistine Chapel is already getting ready for the election of the next Pope. So far 51 cardinals have spoken in the so called pre-conclave. The main issues being addressed are the new evangelization, the Roman Curia and the worldwide expectations of the next Pope.   In the first few days of the general congregation meetings, some cardinals, especially those from the U.S gave interviews to the press. But that has all been canceled now, after cardinals complained that reserved and confidential information was being discussed with the press. The Vatican's spokesperson, said that as time goes on, and the intensity of the conclave comes to life, it's natural to have less information. FR. FEDERICO LOMBARDI Vatican spokesman “I'm not surprised. It's understandable that at first the information and predisposition of the cardinals would be ...

March 6, 2013. (Romereports.com) These are the three ballot boxes that will be used as cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel and elect the next Pope.   They will write a name, fold the piece of paper in half and place it on this tray before dropping into one of these ballot boxes. Once the votes are counted, they will be placed on this second ballot box.   The third box, with a lock, is used for cardinals electors who are sick and perhaps cannot make it to the conclave. In that case, the sick cardinal places his vote inside the ballot box. Two authorized people, will take it to the Sistine Chapel, where it will be opened with this key. These ballot boxes were made during the pontificate of John Paul II, and they actually follow the Apostolic Constitution 'Universi Dominici Gregis.' They were used in the 2005 conclave when Benedict XVI was elected. Now they will be used to elect the successor of St. Peter.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - The College of Cardinals began their formal pre-conclave meetings March 4 with 142 members present, 103 of whom are under the age of 80 and eligible to enter the conclave to vote for a new pope. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the cardinals did not set a date for the conclave to begin and were unlikely to set a date until the 115 cardinal-electors expected were all present and until the cardinals felt confident they knew how much time they wanted for discussions beforehand. One of the first decisions made by the cardinals was to authorize the drafting of a message to Pope Benedict XVI, Father Lombardi said. He did not know when the text would be completed and approved. The cardinals also voted to listen that evening to Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household, give the first of two meditations required by church law before a conclave. The rules for electing a pope require the cardinals to choose two ch...

The Cardinals of the Church are meeting today in the first of the General Congregations which occur to prepare for the Conclave. The Cardinals are pictured here arriving at the Paul VI Hall. The General Congregations include the participation of not only the Cardinal-electors, who are under 80 and can vote in the Conclave, but also Cardinals who are over 80 years of age. The second General Congregation will be this afternoon. It was announced a few days ago that not all of the Cardinal-electors have arrived in Rome, and their presence is necessary for the start of the Conclave.

March 1, 2013. (Romereports.com) In his first hours as Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI was very serene and calm. After saying farewell from his balcony, he had dinner, prayed and took a walk. According to the Vatican's spokesman, he also slept quite well.   “I spoke with  Benedict XVI's secretary over the phone, and he told me the Pope was very calm, relaxed and had slept very well. He told me this with a very friendly tone of voice, which gives me the impression that it has been a time of peace for him,” said father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican's spokesman. With the Pope's resignations all heads of Vatican Departments temporarily lose their posts. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who is also the so called chamberlain is responsible for the management and day to day affairs of the Holy See until a new Pope is elected. Through a letter, all nunciatures have been officially informed about Benedict XVI's resignation. His Papal apartment was sealed as was the elevator...

In an article from  The Telegraph , Cardinal Pell,  The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, described what he will look for in the next pope: "We want somebody with vision, able to plan for the future, who can take charge with the media and speak to the world, especially to those who half believe or don't believe at all'' Cardinal Pell told the Inner West Courier during his visit to St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School in Ashfield today. Cardinal Pell said he was also looking for someone with "managerial” skills in the papal role. "It's far and away from the most important task but it's one the tasks,'' he said. Read the article.

Ahead of the conclave that will elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington said that the next pope must confront the challenge of secularism.

February 25, 2013. (Romereports.com) On Monday the Vatican announced that Benedict XVI made a few modifications to the rules of the coming Conclave and the Sede Vacante. The changes were made to apply to the Pope's resignation, since before that, the rules were mostly based on a Papal death.   The change itself could only be approved by the Pope. The first change allows the dates of the Conclave to be moved up, before the 15th of March, if all cardinal electors are in Rome. MONS. PIER LUIGI CELATA Vice Camerlengo “The Motu Proprio still notes this window of 15 days, but it gives the College of Cardinals, the power to move the date of the Conclave before this window. That is, if all cardinal electors are in Rome." Before this modification, the Conclave could only begin 15 days after the death or resignation of a Pope. Once the Pope resigns, cardinals will begin to meet on a daily basis, starting on March 1st. It's a time to discuss the state of the Church, its ...

This story via CNA: The conclave to choose the next Pope will likely begin between March 9th and 11th. A Vatican official speaking on background to CNA said Feb. 24 that the dates being discussed for the start of the conclave to elect Benedict XVI’s successor are somewhere between March 9th and 11th. The possibility of foregoing the normal 15-day waiting period for opening a conclave has been raised by Pope Benedict announcing that he will resign on Feb. 28, giving everyone 17 days advanced notice of his intention. The cardinals are not able to choose a date earlier than March 15 as the rules currently stand, but Pope Benedict will publish a declaration tomorrow clearing the way for an accelerated timeline. Before the conclave begins, the cardinals will hold a series of General Congregations, at which they will take up any administrative items, discuss the needs of the Church and talk about who can best respond to those needs as the next Pope. During the conclave, the 1...