Conclave

A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. From the Apostolic Age until 1059, the pope, like other bishops, was chosen by the consensus of the clergy (priests and deacons) and laity of the diocese. In 1059, the body of electors was more precisely defined, when the College of Cardinals was designated the sole body of electors. Concerns around political interference led to reforms after the interregnum of 1268–1271 and Pope Gregory X's decree during the Second Council of Lyons in 1274 that the cardinal electors should be locked in seclusion cum clave (Latin for 'with a key') and not permitted to leave until a new pope had been elected. Conclaves are now held in the Sistine Chapel of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. Since then, other details of the procedures have developed. In 1970, Pope Paul VI limited the electors to cardinals under 80 years of age in Ingravescentem aetatem. The current procedures established by Pope John Paul II in Universi Dominici gregis were slightly amended in 2007 and 2013 by Pope Benedict XVI. A two-thirds supermajority vote is required to elect the new pope.