With Pope Benedict XVI already enjoying his retirement at Castel Gandolfo, it’s time to get this conclave rolling.
For those of you non-Catholics, who are unfamiliar with the conclave, this is the part where all the men in the funny red hats (cardinals) lock themselves in the Sistine Chapel and elect the new pope (aka – one of the 110 cardinals).
After the Pope’s unexpected depature and all of the commotion surrounding it, you’d think it would be back to business as usual in Vatican City.
Unfortunately, the cardinals responsible for electing the new pope do not seem to have the same enthusiastic attitude.
Yesterday kicked off the “discussions” to determine when the conclave will begin, and today was more of the same.
With five cardinals still MIA, tomorrow should have a similar result.
Thankfully, the pre-conclave activities haven’t been completely without amusement. Yesterday, a non-cardinal tried to sneak into a meeting wearing a purple scarf instead of a bishop’s sash and a black fedora Luckily, the Swiss Guards were able to see through his clever disguise (that purple scarf must have been a shade off).
With antics like this and over 5,000 journalists there to cover it, there should be plenty to entertain us until the new pope is finally named. Here’s hoping they don’t break the conclave record — three years.
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More on the Story: NPR
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