Cross Word

From Fisherman's Ring to Final Resting Place: The Journey After a Pope's Death

• Michele McAloon • Season 3 • Episode 133

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The passing of Pope Francis marks a pivotal moment in Catholic history, triggering ancient protocols that few outside the Vatican understand. As a canon lawyer within the Roman Catholic Church's legal system, I'm uniquely positioned to guide you through the fascinating reality behind papal succession.

Forget Hollywood's conspiracy theories and dramatic interpretations. The truth about what happens when a pope dies is simultaneously more mundane and more fascinating. From the Camerlengo calling the Pope's name three times in a final attempt to wake him, to the ceremonial destruction of the Fisherman's Ring with shears and a silver hammer, these traditions carry deep symbolic meaning developed over two millennia.

Pope Francis, true to his humble character, has chosen to break with several papal traditions. His body will be displayed at ground level rather than elevated during public viewing. Most significantly, he'll become the first pope in over a century to be buried outside St. Peter's Basilica, choosing instead St. Mary Major church where he often prayed before an ancient icon believed to have been painted by St. Luke himself. Rather than the traditional three nested coffins, Francis requested a single coffin of wood and zinc.

The coming days will bring the gathering of cardinals from around the world as they prepare for the conclave – the secretive process where they'll elect the next pope in the Sistine Chapel. While the governance of the Church temporarily falls to the College of Cardinals, we stand at a moment of profound transition in Catholic leadership. Whether you're a devoted Catholic or simply fascinated by these ancient traditions, this unprecedented moment offers a rare glimpse into ceremonies typically shrouded in mystery. What surprises might the Holy Spirit have in store? Only time will tell.

Michele McAloon:

Hi, you're listening to Crossword, where cultural clues lead to the truth of the word, and my name is Michelle McElhoun, your host. Usually, I am interviewing a nonfiction author of a book that I've read and we have a discussion, but today's a little different. As you know, at 7.35 am this morning, pope Francis died. I am a canon lawyer for the Roman Catholic Church. As some of you may or may not know, what is a canon lawyer? I work in the discrete legal system of the Roman Catholic Church. There's 1.4 billion people and when you have that many people, you got to have rules, you got to have management, you've got to have a system in place. I went to a very specific law school three years of law school. I did two years master's degree and I am not a secular lawyer. I'm an ecclesiastical lawyer that works in the Roman Catholic Church for the lay people, for bishops and even for cardinals.

Michele McAloon:

I am here to explain what is going to happen over the next couple days. You'll see how the Vatican acts and hopefully, maybe I can answer some of your questions or just to make you aware of what is happening. What I'm going to speak with you today about is what is going to happen over the next few days. What happens with the death of a pope? When a pope dies, there are very, very certain steps that must be taken in order to preserve the papal office and also to plan for the succession of the Pope. The succession of the Pope will occur in an assembly known as the conclave, when all the cardinals from around the world that Pope Francis has elected and also there might still be even some with Pope Benedict XVI, I think there are a few they all come to Rome and if they are under the age of 80, they will choose the next pope in a secret election in the Sistine Chapel. But today we are going to talk about the death of the Pope. The first thing that we have to do is throw Hollywood out the door. Hollywood loves a good conspiracy theory about the Vatican, about papal succession. I mean, there's a boogeyman in every quarter according to Hollywood. I hate to break it to you folks. It's a lot more mundane than that. There are just certain steps that have to be taken. These steps have either been requested by the pope when he was living, that this will happen upon my death. There's also 2,000 years of tradition what happens when a Pope dies and the handling of it till conclave is called and the new Pope succeeds the one that has deceased.

Michele McAloon:

So let's begin with a few words of terminology, and we'll start with the word Camerlingo. This is the figure portrayed in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. Forget it, forget it, forget it. It was actually. The movie wasn't too bad. It had some great shots of Rome but had a lot of really crazy stuff. This was the Tom Hanks movie, and there's actually some good movies out there. Conclave is actually a fairly decent movie. It's pretty much right movie. It's pretty much right, but we can talk about that later.

Michele McAloon:

Anyway, the role of the real Camerlengo is fairly humdrum. The Camerlengo, translated as Chamberlain in English, is a cardinal who, in his day-to-day job, administers the property and the finances of the Holy See. In the event, the apostolic see becomes vacant, so this is either through death or through retirement, as when Pope Benedict XVI did. Now, the Apostolic See means the papal chair, the chair of St Peter. That's where the pope sits, and the Apostolic See is actually his legal title. The actual governance of the church, though in the absence of the pope, falls to the College of Cardinals, and this is the group of cardinals around the world, and they're referred to as a College of Cardinals. So everything that actually happens in the church concerning the people and legislation that goes to the cardinals, the administration of the Vatican City goes to the Camerlingo.

Michele McAloon:

But the Cardinal Camerlingo the position is currently filled by Cardinal Kevin Farrell of Ireland. He's got to take a few steps immediately. One of the things he will do as soon as the Pope has died, he is to try to wake him. He will call his name out, even though the doctors have already confirmed his death, probably through medical evidence, through medical tests. But it is the responsibility of Cardinal Farrell, as the Camerlingo and he probably did it this morning to call out Pope Francis's name. I believe it's three times in an attempt to awake him. Pope Francis had requested that his death be announced in his private chapel and not in the room where he dies. This is truly just my personal belief, but I believe he left the hospital to go home to the Vatican to die because he had this very, very specific request that his death be announced in his private chapel.

Michele McAloon:

The next step will be the removal of the fisherman's ring. So this is the papal signet ring given to the Pope on the day of his papal consecration. The ring and it's typically worn on the Pope's right hand will be removed by the Camerlingo using shears and then destroyed using a silver hammer in the presence of other cardinals. I think the silver hammer thing might be a little overblown, but basically know that the seal is destroyed. So when Pope Benedict XVI retired, there was a little break from tradition. The ring was not completely destroyed, only the papal signet, part of the ring was defaced. Up until 1842, the pope's rings were used to seal official documents, and you'll still see bishops with their papal signet on it, and that was from the days of sealing documents with their rings. Of course, that's been replaced now by stamps and electronic signatures and all that other stuff. The rings are typically made of gold, but the ring of Pope Francis it was made of silver, but the destruction of the ring is the symbol that the reign of the deceased pope or the retired pope in the case of Pope Benedict XVI, that his papacy has ended and that the chair is empty. The papal apartment will also be immediately sealed and remain sealed until a new pope is elected, and this is to prevent the taking out of papers or archives or things like that. Once these steps are completed, the pope's death must be announced by the Camerlingo to the dean of the College of Cardinal this is the man that is in charge of the College of Cardinals he's basically the head guy and to the prefecture of the papal household. This is someone who has run all the administrative part of the papal household. The pope is then dressed in papal garments and displayed in St Peter's Basilica.

Michele McAloon:

Pope Francis was very specific. He will break with papal tradition as his casket will not be placed on elevated during the public viewing. He wanted it placed on ground level. The funeral must take place within four to six days after death. I haven't seen an announcement of when the funeral will take place yet, but it probably will be decided today.

Michele McAloon:

Pope Francis will be buried in his favorite Roman church, and that's St Mary Major. He often prayed there next to an icon believed to have been painted by St Luke the Evangelist, and the icon is known as the Salus Populi Romani, also known as the Protectress of the Roman People, and it's actually been on display since 590. And it's something Pope Francis cherished in his life. He would often go there before he traveled and go pray before this icon. So he's asked to be buried in this church near this icon, and he will be the first pope in over a hundred years to be buried outside of St Peter's Basilica. All the cardinals in the Catholic Church, again known collectively as the College of Cardinals, will be notified by the dean of the College of Cardinals and ordered to roam.

Michele McAloon:

Previous popes have been buried in three coffins, and that was cypress, lead and elm, one placed inside the other, kind of like Russian stacking dolls. However, francis, his desire was to be buried in one coffin made of wood and zinc. Placed in the coffin will be something called a roguito. It's a paper scroll which retells Pope's life and the tale of his papacy. That is also placed in the coffin. The coffin is sealed and then he is buried. Hopefully this will give you some understanding of what is going to be happening over the next couple days.

Michele McAloon:

To have a pope die is a huge event in world history. It has often been very fraught, very controversial, and the modern popes have gone out of their way to make sure that this does not happen. But I think once those men get in the Sistine Chapel and that's where they go when they actually start the election of the Pope no one knows what will happen, how the Holy Spirit works, no one knows. So I think we are going to have some very interesting days ahead of us and we might have a few surprises. If you have any specific questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. Any specific questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I can be found at macloonmm, at gmailcom or at bookcluescom, and I have a contact page there. Again, thank you for listening and even though the Pope has died, it is still Eastertide, so I wish you a happy Easter season. Thank you, god bless.

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