papal conclave

College of Cardinals

Papal electoral body

• prelatesSenior clergy with jurisdiction
• scarletBright orangish-red color
• vestmentsCeremonial religious attire

robes · biretta · dean · voting age · eligibility · assembly · gathering · convocation · synod · ecclesiastics

white smoke

Vatican election success indicator

• black smokeSooty airborne combustion byproduct
• chimneyVertical smoke passage
• stoveKitchen heating appliance

bells · ceremony · procession · Latin · liturgy · prayer · Mass · invocation · vestment · enthronement

voting

Formally registering a choice

• ballotingFormal vote-casting process
• electorsThose qualified to vote
• scrutinyClose, careful examination

ballot · two-thirds majority · rounds · deadlock · frontrunner · veto · consensus · nomination · selection · deliberation

pontiff

Supreme Catholic leader

• popeCatholic Church's supreme leader
• Vicar of ChristPope's official designation
• Holy FatherCatholic Church's head

pontificate · interregnum · abdication · succession

Sistine Chapel

Vatican worship hall

• St. Peter's BasilicaRome's principal Catholic church
• Vatican CityIndependent papal microstate
• Holy SeePapal governing authority

St. Peter's Square · loggia · balcony · Swiss Guard · Vatican Museums · Michelangelo · frescoes

sequestered

Removed from contact

• sealedClosed to prevent entry
• isolationComplete separation from others
• locked doorsFastened entrances needing keys

oath of secrecy · confidentiality · seclusion · incommunicado · enclosed · cloistered

• Catholic ChurchVatican, cardinals, popes, parishes, Holy See
• CatholicismVatican, cardinals, pope, Holy Communion, popes
• papacypontiff, Pope, pope, Holy See, Vatican
• cardinalsnorthern cardinal, cardinals, cardinal direction, cardinal points, cardinal virtue
• church gatheringschurch council, assemblies, conferences, church assembly, congresses
• Italian CatholicismVatican, Vatican City, Holy See, College of Cardinals, Swiss Guard