What is a conclave and what does it do?

What is a conclave and what does it do? A conclave is the assembly of cardinals called together to elect a new pope. It also refers to the place where they met. The word conclave comes from the Latin words meaning "with key." In the 13th Century it took the cardinals several years to elect Gregory X. After he was elected, he wrote specific rules governing the election of popes. They were to live and work in a common, closed room - the conclave - free from outside influences. If they failed to elect a new pope within a certain time period, their rations were cut. They were also given no pay nor could they conduct any other business until the election took place. The rules worked well the first time, but when suspended by later popes, the elections once again lasted several years. The rules proved to be important.

Since then many popes have written directives for choosing their successor, deciding who is eligible to vote, how an election is determined and what to do in the event of a tie. Pope John Paul II wrote his directives in 1996 in Universi Dominici Gregis, dealing with all the details of time, place and manner of election. For those who enjoy Church history, this is an interesting document to read.