How to choose a pope

Welcome to the History Extra Podcast. Fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History Magazine. Yesterday saw the announcement that a new pope has been elected, following four rounds of voting. But how does the current process of choosing a pope Compare to that of previous centuries.

What can the elected popes tell us about the times in which they lived? And has there ever been a female pope? Shortly before the new Pope was elected, Matt Elton caught up with Rebecca Rist, Professor of Medieval History at the University of Reading. This Easter marked the death of Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, at the age of eighty eight, and following his funeral the process of choosing the next pope began. Rebecca, thank you so much for being with us today to talk through this process and some of the history behind it. Before we go any further, can you walk us through how the process works?

So um the Cardinals have gathered from all over the world. In Rome in the Sistine Chapel. For the conclave. And conclave comes from two Latin words conclave with the key. So the idea is that the cardinals are sequestered.

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