The College of Cardinals set Tuesday afternoon as the start of their closed-door conclave, making it likely a new pope will be elected by Palm Sunday.
But Timothy Cardinal Dolan might miss out on being at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on St. Patrick’s Day next week.
The cardinals voted yesterday to celebrate a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday morning and take their first vote that afternoon after the Sistine Chapel is sealed.
If black smoke is sent snaking out of the chapel chimney to indicate there is no immediate victor, the cardinals will retire for the day. White smoke is emitted when a pope is elected.
Under their rules, as many as four votes will be taken each day until a candidate receives a two-thirds majority and is named pope. No conclave in the last century has lasted more than five days.
“I miss you!” Dolan wrote on his blog. “It’s been 10 days since I left the [New York] archdiocese, and in the words of the old song, ‘I wanna go home!’
“Especially I will miss you on St. Patrick’s Day, the feast of the patron of our great archdiocese and our renowned cathedral.”
He joked that he loved the food and wine in Rome, but added, “So far, I’ve been unable to find any Irish brown bread, corned beef or whiskey.”
The cardinals, who had been waiting for all voting members to arrive in Vatican City, decided to exempt the stragglers, who had signalled they would not be coming. That decision means 115 cardinals will be eligible to vote, and a two-thirds majority of 77 is needed to win.
Since Pope Benedict XVI announced his intention last month to resign, the favorites have remained Peter Cardinal Turkson of Ghana, Angelo Cardinal Scola from Milan and Canada’s Marc Cardinal Ouelett.