Mumbai Catholics Offer Special Prayers Ahead Of Papal Conclave To Elect New Pope

As the conclave to elect the new Pope  begins on May 7 in Vatican City, Italy, the Roman Catholic Church in Mumbai asked its members to offer special prayers to guide the cardinals towards a  good choice to succeed the late Pope Francis.

Over a hundred cardinals, the senior-most members of the clergy, will vote to  elect the 267th Pope. The electoral college of cardinals include four Indians who are also probable candidates for the post. 

Archbishop of Bombay, John Rodrigues, has shared a prayer for the election and has instructed priests to lead people in the ceremony. Some priests observed a novena, a nine-day prayer, for the successful conclusion of the conclave.

Father Reuben Tellis, who curated special prayers for the ocassion, asked church members to use them in their  personal devotion. "My idea was to create an opportunity for people to pray for the papal conclave because it is through prayer that the Cardinals will be inspired to make a good choice of the next leader of the church to succeed Pope Francis," said Tellis.

"The faithful are hoping for a dynamic, charismatic leader who will perpetuate the legacy of Pope Francis, especially of a church of the poor, refugees, migrants and all those ostracised by society," Tellis added.

Know How the new Pope is elected:

The nine-day mourning period for Pope Francis ended on April 26.

Conclave to elect new Pope begins at the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.

There are 133 eligible Cardinals who can vote.

The Cardinals are sworn to secrecy and closeted in the chapel.

There will be four rounds of voting daily till one of the Cardinals get a two-third share of the votes.

There is no time frame for the election. Voting will continue till there is a sucessful result.

Smoke from the Sistine Chapel's chimney will indicate whether the voting has yielded a successor.

Black smoke signals an inconclusive vote.

White smoke heralds the new Pope.

After counting the votes, all ballots are burned.

After the selected candidate accepts the vote, he is allowed to take a new name.

The Cardinal electors pledge their obedience to the new Pope.

The new Pope is announced.