In order to know the meaning of the term conclave, it is essential, first of all, to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can state that it derives from Latin, exactly from "conclave - conclavis", which is a word used to refer to a room that is locked.
The concept is used to name the meeting of cardinals of the Catholic Church that is held to elect a new pope .
The etymological root is linked to the fact that the cardinals isolate themselves from the outside world while the election process takes place. This seclusion prevents voters from receiving pressure or influence .
The College of Cardinals , made up of all the cardinals , is in charge of the organization and development of the conclaves. Upon the death of a pope, one of these meetings is held to allow the election of the pontiff who will succeed the deceased. Because the pope is also the head of state in the Vatican , the conclave determines who will be the leader of the government of that European country.
Conclaves, for several centuries, have taken place in the Sistine Chapel . On each day of the conclave, two sessions are held (in the morning and afternoon) with two votes in each until the pope is elected, a fact that is achieved when a two-thirds majority is reached. The chosen candidate is informed of the result of the vote immediately and must indicate whether or not he accepts the position.
To communicate the result of the conclave votes to the people, a tradition known as fumarta is used. After each session, the voting ballots are burned so that smoke comes out of the chimney on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel . If the votes necessary for the election of the pope were not reached, or the elected person rejected the position, the ballots are burned with wet straw so that black smoke is generated. On the other hand, if the election of the pope was achieved and the candidate accepted, the smoke is made with dry straw and the smoke is white . Thus, people gathered in the Vatican or following the ceremony from a distance find out about the news.
In addition to everything stated above, we cannot forget that this term has been used on more than one occasion within the literary field. A good example of this is the suspense novel "Conclave", published in 2017 and written by author Robert Harris.
It is a thriller that takes the death of the Pope as its starting point. This means that a total of 118 cardinals from different corners of the world meet in the Sistine Chapel behind closed doors with the purpose of voting for who will be the new Supreme Pontiff. However, what is imagined to be a quiet session will turn into a real power struggle since each of those present has the dream and ambition of being the leader of the Catholic Church.
In the same way, we cannot ignore that in Malaga, specifically in the town of Fuengirola, there is a store called "The stone conclave." This is an establishment where all types of board games can be purchased. In the same way, it acts as a toy library and allows you to see on-site demonstrations of the different games that are sold.