HOLY SEE VACANCY Special interest attaches to the procedure which is followed in the Vatican at times when the Holy See is vacant—Sede vacante, in the Latin phrase. During such intervals between two pon tificates the Sacred College of Cardinals takes over the work of ecclesiastical administration. Detailed rules are laid down for what is to be done during vacancies; the procedure has repeatedly been modified and improved by successive popes. All previous rules were abrogated by the Constitutions of Leo XIII. (May 24, 1882) and Pius X. (Dec. 25, 1904), which are incorporated in the code of canon law.
The Conclave.—Under these constitutions the seat of the cardinals during the vacancy of the Holy See and the conclave is the Vatican palace. The cardinal camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, who is the personal representative of the Sacred College in the ordinary administration, takes up his residence there ; wherever he goes in the palace he is escorted by the Swiss Guards. Every morning, from the death of the pope to the opening of the conclave, all the cardinals meet in the hall of the Consistorium to hold a congregation, that is to say to consult on current business. Assembled in that hall they receive the condolences of the diplo matic corps and of the Order of the Knights of Malta. The general congregation deals with the most important business, and in addition a special congregation meets daily to transact affairs of minor importance; it consists of the three cardinals who are respectively senior in each of the three hierarchical orders repre sented in the College of Cardinals (bishops, priests and deacons) as well as of the cardinal camerlengo. At the first general con gregation the seals of the deceased pope (the Fisherman's Ring and the leaden seal of the Apostolic Chancellery used for the sealing of Bulls) are handed over to the Sacred College and are at once broken.
On nine consecutive days the obsequies of the pope (called for this reason novendialia) are celebrated; on the first six days the services are held in the Vatican basilica and on the last three in the Sistine chapel. At the last service the deceased pope's funeral sermon is preached. Until the conclave of Feb. 1922, at which Pius XI. was elected, the cardinals entered into conclave one day after the novendialia. In order however to give the cardinals
from the most distant parts of the world, such as America and Australia, the necessary time to reach Rome, Pius XI. increased the interval between the death of the pope and the opening of the conclave to 18 days. On the morning of the day on which they go into conclave, the cardinals meet in the Pauline chapel to hear the Mass of the Holy Spirit celebrated by the doyen of the cardinals, and to listen to a sermon preached by a prelate on the election of the pope.
During the conclave the Vatican palace is closed, and all con tact with the outside world is cut off by the walling up of the doors giving access to it. The walls are pierced by rotas or turning boxes similar to those of enclosed monasteries, through which it is possible to pass objects without seeing the person to whom they are passed, and to converse provided that the voice is raised. The guardianship of the rotas is entrusted to the prelates of the different colleges, and in particular to the clerks of the Apostolic Chamber, who carry out minor administrative functions in the Vatican while the Holy See is vacant. These prelates decide in what cases persons may be authorized to converse with the cardinals through the rotas, are present at such conversations, and inspect all objects which it is desired to introduce into the con clave.- The conclave is guarded from the outside by the prince marshal of the Holy Roman Church, an hereditary office vested in the Chigi family, and the prelate at the head of the papal court (the major-domo or master of the chamber). Within the Vatican are only the cardinals with their secretaries or "conclavists," the masters of the ceremonies, certain other ecclesiastics who are entrusted with definite duties, doctors, and the service staff. All matters connected with the conclave are directed by the secretary of the Sacred College and the prefect of papal ceremonies. The admission of each person who resides within the precincts of the ' conclave must be considered and approved in advance by the general congregation of cardinals. The interior of the Vatican palace is divided into a number of small apartments (cellae) corresponding to the number of cardinals; each cardinal is allotted his apartment by lot.