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Tag: papal conclave

  • Sistine Chapel Closes Ahead of Papal Conclave

    In order to prepare for the upcoming Papal Conclave, the Vatican today closed the Sistine Chapel to visitors. As of 1 pm today, the chapel, famous for its renaissance frescoes, will be closed to the public until the process of choosing a new Pope has finished.

    From the Vatican’s statement:

    In order to accommodate the forthcoming Conclave, the Sistine Chapel will remain closed to the public from 1 pm on Tuesday 5 March until further notice. During the same period, the Borgia Apartment and the Collection of Modern Religious Art will not be included in visits to the Vatican Museums.

    The papal conclave is being convened in the wake of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, the first such resignation since Pope Gregory XII in 1415. Benedict XVI cited his poor health as a reason for his resignation, saying, “both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

    The Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals will now meet to elect the next Pope, who also serves as the Bishop of Rome. The Cardinals will lock themselves away in the Sistine Chapel, the site of papal conclaves since 1878, and will remain there until the next Pope is chosen. A two-thirds majority vote of the Cardinals is required to elect a new Pope.

    The beginning date of the papal conclave is still unknown, though Cardinals from around the world are arriving in the Vatican for the event.

  • The Pope’s Twitter Account to Be Put on Ice, Not Shuttered

    Despite earlier reports that Pope Benedict’s resignation means curtains for the official @Pontifex Twitter account, it looks like the account will stay alive while the Papal Conclave selects his replacement.

    At least according to the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Paul Tighe.

    “During the period between today and the election of new pope the account will be inactive…not shut down,” Tighe told Forbes.

    According to Tighe, the Twitter account will be kept on ice so that the next pope can determine whether or not he wants to continue the social media communications unveiled under Benedict.

    “Obviously we leave all decisions to the new man. But we would hope that he might continue to use @pontifex, which would maintain continuity,” he said.

    The Pope first started tweeting out his daily messages on December 12th of last year, and has currently sent 39 tweets and amassed nearly 1.6 million followers (english language).

    We recently learned that the 117 Cardinals, whose job it is to select the next pope, will be barred from all Twitter use. This shouldn’t surprise anyone, considering the secrecy of the Papal Conclave – all outside communications will be restricted. It really should matter that much, as only 9 out of the 117 Cardinals even operate personal Twitter accounts.

  • Cardinals Barred from Twitter Use as They Select the New Pope

    Twitter-using Cardinals are going to have to shutter their devices when they all convene to select a new Pope to replace the outgoing Benedict XVI.

    The 117 Cardinals who will participate in the upcoming Papal Conclave will be barred from tweeting the moment they sit down to make the decision. Like a sequestered jury, the Cardinals will be prohibited from have access with the outside world – and this of course includes Twitter.

    According to the Catholic News Service, only 9 of the 117 “red-vested princes of the church who are eligible to vote for a new pope” operate Twitter accounts. They range in influence from small to large (in terms of followers). For instance, Spanish Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach of Barcelona has just over 2,000 followers.

    On the other hand Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who was named Archbishop of New York by Pope Benedict,has over 81,000 followers and is an very active Twitter presence.

    Twitter hit the Vatican in a big way in December, as Pope Benedict himself began tweeting his daily messages to millions of followers.

    Some Cardinals have already been tweeting about the situation and the upcoming vote.

    It looks like Cardinal Mahony and a few others will have to silence their Twitter-thumbs for at least a few days (maybe) in March.

    [Catholic News Service]