# The Pope has died \[April 21, 2025\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 21, 2025, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296 "2025-04-21T08:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/81 "2025-04-28T17:10:09Z")
I’ll be on a Richard Thompson concert on May 8th, and it’s also the 80th anniversary of nazi Germany’s total capitulation. If they decide early, I may miss it on that day. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/82 "2025-04-28T17:10:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > To clarify, the process is known. But the interesting part is in the politicking, and that’s known only to the cardinals and might be different every time. Especially how it is frowned upon to publicly state you want to be Pope. > [@DrDeth](#): > > A Cardinal _in pectore_ can not go to the Conclave or vote Because when the conclave happens he is no longer a cardinal. I have talked to people who met Pope Francis during his walks in the Vatican and he was a very humble man. Also, the Pope is no longer the autocrat he used to be so Pope Francis did more than what would be reasonably expected given politics. Lastly, gotta respect he took his papal name after St. Francis of Assisi. He was a Christian that actually practiced what he preached. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/83 "2025-04-28T17:58:18Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > If they decide early, I may miss it on that day. Not to worry. It’ll be in all the papers. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/84 "2025-04-28T18:18:56Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > the conclave date has been announced. may 7th. At my parents’ urging, we booked (months ago) a once-in-a-lifetime trip for them to see Venice and Rome. We’ve been to both, so we’re going to show them around. We’ll arrive in Rome on 27 May, so presumably all this kerfuffle will be over and done with. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/85 "2025-04-28T18:55:47Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > He was a Christian that actually practiced what he preached. I concur. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/86 "2025-04-28T21:56:15Z")
Classy… 🤦 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/87 "2025-04-29T03:09:07Z")
An interesting presentation: > **[Conclave: A visual guide to the secretive process of choosing a new pope | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/28/world/conclave-pope-selection-intl-dg/index.html)** > > The process of picking a new pope is filled with ancient rituals like a secret ballot and locked doors. See a visual guide to conclave. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/88 "2025-04-29T04:04:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > A Cardinal _in pectore_ can not go to the Conclave or vote- he is only allowed to if it has been announced. They lose their cardinalate upon the Pope’s death to avoid fraud, but I was just thinking how public does it have to be? Could the Pope just tell the Dean that if this guy shows up to the conclave that he really is a Cardinal. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2025, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/89 "2025-04-30T19:55:32Z")
I believe so. Robert Harris in the novel _Conclave_ also had a throwaway line about the just-deceased Pope having changed the rules to allow a cardinal _in pectore_ to participate in the next conclave. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/90 "2025-05-02T21:20:57Z")
Can the Pope demote a cardinal? I’m just imagining a Pope demoting a cardinal to a monk by saying “You’re friared”. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/91 "2025-05-02T21:22:55Z")
Okay. Go to your room immediately and say 10 Our Fathers and 10 Hail Marys. 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/92 "2025-05-03T15:52:46Z")
Currently, all cardinals are bishops (though I don’t think that’s actually strictly speaking a requirement), and the Pope can’t make a bishop not a bishop any more, because bishop-ness is conferred by an indelible sacrament. Everything else, though, the Pope can take away. He can make a Cardinal not eligible to take part in the next election (this was done recently for a great many of them, when the Church imposed a maximum age on electors), he can make him not a Cardinal any more, and he can remove him from his diocese (so he’s still a bishop, but not a bishop of anywhere in particular). ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/93 "2025-05-08T17:14:02Z")
White smoke! Now we’re just waiting for him to come out & see his shadow ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/94 "2025-05-08T17:28:12Z")
Deep-dish pizza will be served in the Vatican. We have a Chicago Pope! (Besides Cecil Adams). > [@New Pope has been chosen and he is from the US](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope-has-been-chosen-and-he-is-from-the-us/1018108): > > The papal conclave has finished, and the choice has been made: Cardinal Prevost, the first pope from the United States in history. He says that he has chosen the regnal name Leo XIV. He is right now at the balcony of St. Peter reading his speech (in rather good Italian, I have to say), switching at times to very good Spanish (he spent many years in Peru and has double nationality). This choice has been a bit surprising. The US is the global hegemon (or almost), and some pundits were saying tha… ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/95 "2025-05-08T17:52:37Z")
Did anyone guess the name Leo? I thought there was a thread about that. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/96 "2025-05-08T17:55:03Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Did anyone guess the name Leo? I thought there was a thread about that. - He’s just making sure he’s lionized. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/97 "2025-05-08T20:16:58Z")
I wanted Pope Bob; turns out I [missed it by that much](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPwrodxghrw&t=3s). ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/98 "2025-05-08T21:55:41Z")
As a Chicagoan, I can only say, “Oh Jesus Christ, we’re never going to hear the end of this.” I can hear the nasally phrase “Da Pope” twanging through the air now, accompanied by the raising of beer mugs. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/99 "2025-05-08T22:00:56Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Did anyone guess the name Leo? I thought there was a thread about that. [Right here](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/103). I got 1/2 point since Leo XIV was a close second for me. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/100 "2025-05-08T22:13:35Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > As a Chicagoan, I can only say, “Oh Jesus Christ, we’re never going to hear the end of this.” The Onion just posted on Facebook “Conclave Selects First Ever Chicago Style Pope” with an image of the new Pope Photoshopped into a poppy seed bun with mustard, relish, onions, tomatoes, and a pickle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296.md?page=6)