The day of goodbye

This morning in the Vatican, His Holiness, Benedict XVI will meet the Cardinals who are resident in Rome as well as those who have already arrived in Rome in the past days.  This will be a private meeting, barred from the cameras and from public view, an opportunity for him to speak candidly with the Princes of the Church who he referred to just yesterday as his dear brothers.

In the later part of the afternoon, the Holy Father will make his way to the Vatican heliport where he will bid farewell to His Eminence, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, his Secretary of State as well as His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Sodano, the Dean of the College of Cardinals.

The Pope will then fly to the Apostolic palace in Castel Gandolfo were he will be received by His Eminence, Giuseppe Cardinal Bertello, President of the Governatorate of the Vatican City State (the office responsible for the general maintenance and running of the Vatican; and His Excellency, Giuseppe Sciacca, Secretary General of the Governatorate.  Also in attendance at Castel Gandalfo for the welcoming ceremony will be His Excellency, Marcello Semeraro, Bishop of Albano and various civil authorities of Castel Gandalfo.  The Holy Father will then greet the faithful from the balcony of the Apostolic palace, just as he would normally do during the Summer recess when he presided over the General Audiences which sometimes took place there.

At 8:00pm local time, when the period of Sede Vacante officially begins, the Swiss Guards who are assigned to protect the Roman Pontiff will retire and return to the Vatican.  The responsibility for the safety of the Pontiff Emeritus will then fall to the Vatican Gendarmerie.

As of the commencement of the Sede Vacante, His Holiness will no longer wear the Fisherman's ring.  Instead, he will wear an episcopal ring.  The task of destroying the Fisherman's ring along with the lead seal which has been used to officially mark the decrees of this Pontificate will be entrusted to the Cardinal Camerlengo, His Eminence, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone and his assistants.

When the period of Sede Vacante begins, all the officials of the Holy See will effectively loose their appointed positions, with the exception of the Cardinal Camerlengo who assumes responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Holy See until the election of the new Roman Pontiff.

After the death or resignation of a pope, the Holy See becomes sede vacante.  In particular the vacant diocese is that of Rome.  While the Bishops of all other Dioceses in the Church are named by the Pope, the process for providing for the See of Rome is entrusted to the Cardinals who will meet in conclave (literally translated as with key, as in locked with a key) to elect the next Roman Pontiff.


According to Universi Dominici Gregis, the government of the Holy See sede vacante (and therefore of the Catholic Church) falls to the College of Cardinals, but in a very limited capacity. At the same time, all of the heads of the Roman Curia resign their offices. The exceptions are the Cardinal Camerlengo, who is charged with managing the property of the Holy See, and the Major Penitentiary, His Eminence, Manuel Cardinal Monteiro de Castro who continues to exercise his normal role. If either has to do something which normally requires the assent of the Pope, he has to submit it to the College of Cardinals. Papal Nuncios and other representatives continue to exercise their diplomatic roles overseas, and both the Vicar General of Rome, His Eminence, Agostino Cardinal Vallini and the Vicar General for the Vatican City State, His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Comastri continue to exercise their pastoral role during this period. The postal administration of the Vatican City State prepares and issues special postage stamps for use during this particular period, known as "sede vacante stamps".

The coat of arms of the Holy See also changes during this period. Instead of the papal tiara over the keys, the tiara is replaced with the umbraculum. This symbolizes both the lack of a Pope and also the governance of the Camerlengo over the temporalities of the Holy See. As further indication, the Camerlengo ornaments his coat of arms with this symbol during this period, which he subsequently removes once a pope is elected. The arms of the Camerlengo appear on commemorative Vatican Euro coins minted during this period, which are legal tender in all Eurozone member states.

It is expected that the Dean of the College of Cardinals will officially issue the invitation for all the Cardinals to gather in Rome as early as Friday of this week.  Next week, there will most probably be a series of meetings during which the assembled Cardinals will review the details and rules of participating in a Conclave and the Conclave of 2013 will begin shortly thereafter.  The Cardinals themselves will decide on the date for the beginning of the Conclave to elect the 265th Successor of Peter.