Ars bene moriendi: Papal Conclave -- 2013AD

With today marking the beginning of the Conclave of 2013, and having reviewed the history of abdications, the conclave, and noted the particular procedures of the Papal Conclave, my post today takes a look at some of the major characters of this Conclave 2013 and some of the details of the offices and origins of the Cardinal-Electors.

First, here is a splendid quotation that seems ever fresh and appropriate with a conclave opening today:

“We must pray and pray much; for... no science, no human prudence can furnish a remedy to the evils that desolate the Church: the all-powerful arm of God is needed.

We must pray to Jesus Christ that he may give us as the Head of his Church a man, less remarkable by his science and human prudence, than by his fervor and his zeal for the honor of God; a man, absolutely inaccessible to every intrigue, who is above all human respect. For, if we have the misfortune to have a Pope elected, who is not a man that seeks only the glory of God, the Lord will aid us but little, and in the present state of things all will go from bad to worse.

Prayer, then, is the only remedy.

I have, therefore, written to all the houses of our humble Congregation, and have enjoined upon them to pray with more than ordinary fervor for the election of a new Pope.... Such is the advice that can be given by a miserable man like myself.”

–St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
Bishop of S. Agata dei Goti
Letter from Arienzo
24 October 1774

Next, this video gives a good overview and summary with a few good interviews:

This site follows up on that giving the Latin first names of each of the electors: http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2013/03/11/alphabetical-list-of-cardinal-electors-first-names-in-latin/

It is worth noting that for the coming conclave, the smoke will come roughly at 7AM and 2PM (Both Eastern time) after the morning and afternoon ballots, according to the schedule made public today. Of course, if someone is elected on the first ballot of the morning or evening, white smoke could come earlier. There are, of course, two ballots in the morning and evening -- and if no one is elected in the first ballot, they proceed immediately to the second, and then burn both sets of ballots together at the times mentioned above. Happily, too, the bells are rung with the white smoke to make it particularly clear. About an hour after the white smoke and bells, we should have the announcement by the Cardinal-Protodeacon of who has been elected.

This link will take you to an excellent graphic showing the details of the voting procedure:
Wall Street Journal Election Graphic

This site maintained by the Vatican itself is a wonderful source for live video, as the events unfold: http://www.vatican.va/video/

Here is a report of the entrace into the Conclave:

For this Conclave of 2013, there are several website well worth keeping tabs on for news, information, and references. These include:

www.catholic-hierarchy.org – especially the Conclave page, http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/conclave2013.html
Professor Miranda’s Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church site: http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/cardinals.htm
The Vatican News site is a great resource for official statements coming out of the General Congregations and Vatican: www.news.va.
The New Advent page, www.newadvent.org, is frequently updated with Conclave news, and on the right site of the home page provides links to information and recent articles on individual Cardinals.
The Whispers in the Loggia blog is usually well supplied with information and analysis: http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/
Here is a useful resource for those that don’t want to miss the announcement: http://www.popealarm.com/

Turning then, to some of the key characters and statistics of this Conclave 2013:

The key offices and officeholders of this particular conclave of 2013 are as follows:

Dean: Angelo Cardinal Sodano *
Vice-Dean: Roger Marie Élie Cardinal Etchegaray *
Secretary: Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri
Camerlengo (Chamberlain): Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Cardinal Bertone
Vice Camerlengo (Chamberlain): Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata
Senior Cardinal-Deacon: Jean-Louis Pierre Cardinal Tauran
Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome: Agostino Cardinal Vallini
Major Penitentiary: Manuel Cardinal Monteiro de Castro

*--Not Cardinal-Electors (over 80 years of age)

(cf., http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/conclave2013.html)

CARDINAL ELECTORS of particular note, all listed in order of precedence, their titular Cardinal Titles, and offices:

Order of Bishops (this includes all Cardinal-Electors of that order, 2 total)

Giovanni Battista Re, bishop of the title of the suburbicarian see of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto.
Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B, bishop of the title of the suburbicarian see of Frascati.

Patriarchs of Oriental Rites (this includes all Cardinal-Electors of that order, 2 total)

Antonios Naguib, patriarch emeritus of Alexandria of the Copts, Egypt.
Béchara Boutros Raï, O.M.M., patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, Lebanon.

Order of Priests (a list of a few of the “Papabile” or other oft-mentioned Cardinal-Electors, out of a total of 81)
Order of Deacons (noting the two Cardinal-Deacons with ceremonial roles in the conclave, and a couple others for good measure, out of 30 total)

Jean-Louis Tauran, deaconry of S. Apollinare alle Terme Neroniane-Alessandrine, protodeacon [He will announce who has been elected from the balcony]
Robert Sarah, deaconry of S. Giovanni Bosco in via Tuscolana, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum
Raymond Leo Burke, deaconry of S. Agata de' Goti, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature and of the Court of Cassation
James Michael Harvey, deaconry of S. Pio V a Villa Carpegna, junior Cardinal-Deacon [He will act as Cardinal-Doorman!]

(cf., http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/conclave-xxi.htm#2013)

Here, then, are the names of all of the home countries of the Cardinal-Electors with the number from that nation in parentheses, in a list provided by the Holy See Press Office:

"Categorizing the cardinals from area of origin, the 60 European cardinals come from: Italy: 28. Germany: 6. Spain: 5. Poland: 4. France: 4. Austria: 1. Belgium: 1. Switzerland: 1. Portugal: 2. Netherlands: 1. [Northern] Ireland: 1. Czech Republic: 1. Bosnia-Herzegovina: 1. Hungary: 1. Lithuania: 1. Croatia:1. and Slovenia: 1.

The 14 Northern American cardinals come from: the United States: 11. and Canada: 3.

The 19 Latin American cardinals are from: Brazil: 5. Mexico: 3. Argentina: 2. Colombia: 1. Chile: 1. Venezuela: 1. the Dominican Republic: 1. Cuba: 1. Honduras: 1. Peru: 1. Bolivia: 1. and Ecuador: 1.

The 11 African cardinals come from: Nigeria: 2. Tanzania: 1. South Africa: 1. Ghana: 1. Sudan: 1. Kenya: 1. Senegal: 1. Egypt: 1. Guinea: 1. and the Democratic Republic of the Congo: 1

The 10 Asian cardenales are from: India: 4. the Philippines: 1. Vietnam: 1. Indonesia: 1. Lebanon: 1. China [Hong Kong]: 1. and Sri Lanka: 1.

The sole cardinal from Oceania hails from Australia."

For the complete list, with the names of the Cardinals, visit: http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/electors.htm

Finally, here is a list of the Sees (Archdiocese) and Vatican Offices or Congregations who current Ordinary, Prefect, or President is a Cardinal-Elector. This list does not include Archdiocese or Offices whose former head, an Archbishop Emeritus, for instance, is still a Cardinal-Elector.

Abuja, Nigeria

Aparecida, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Archpriest of the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura

Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

Bombay, India

Bordeaux (-Bazas), France

Boston, Massachusetts, USA