That said, more people send messages or coordinate over their phones to avoid accidents or problems than actually talk on them nowadays. Smartphones allow us to get directions, check the weather, manage our health, look up words, read documents, and make payments—they’ve become essential to daily life. On the other hand, they can be so convenient that we can end up being enslaved by them.
Lately I’ve been overhearing my colleagues muttering about how they’d like to leave their phones at home and go take a break on a deserted island, for example.
It’s not a deserted island, but there is a place where you can be completely cut off from contact with the world, and that is within the Conclave—the vote to select a new pope. Cardinals from all over the world gather at the Vatican to live without their smartphones or computers for several days during the process.
The official summons is still conducted exclusively through encrypted emails and official Latin documents. One hundred and thirty-three cardinals were brought in for the most recent (2025) vote.
The Archbishop of Wellington in New Zealand traveled the farthest of all the cardinals. Apparently it took him about 35 hours to get to Rome with all the changeovers.
Given that the selected electors come in from all over the world, the process is a bit like the religious Olympics.
Conclave means “a lockable room” in Latin, which is fitting given that the cardinals conduct their discussions and voting in a room that is completely sealed off from the outside world.
Naturally, they must all surrender their mobile phones and computers during the process.
The vote is conducted entirely by paper and pen. In the end, they burn the ballots to signal the results of the voting process.
Did you know that the color of the smoke indicates the results of the papal election? If no pope is elected, the smoke is black (fumata nera). If a new pope is chosen, the smoke is white (fumata bianca). It rises out of a stove in the Sistine Chapel.
In the past, there was confusion about the color of the smoke—with people wondering whether they were seeing gray or white or what. These days, they apparently use chemical compounds to make sure the smoke comes out a distinct color.
Live cameras zoom in on the smoke in Italy, almost like a soccer match. Everyone holds their breath and waits for the moment to come, joking that the smoke is likely to be gray again this time.
The most recent Conclave went relatively smoothly, with the cardinals deciding on a new pope during the second day. Historically, though, there have been some incredible episodes.
At one point in history, the electors apparently couldn’t decide on a successor for three years straight. There was also a famous incident where impatient Roman citizens locked the cardinals in, removed the roof of the Conclave, and then pressured them to make a decision by limiting their food supply!
There are also rumors that the cardinals dragged out the Conclave because they were treating it as a kind of posh vacation, though there’s no evidence one way or another.
The Conclave is certainly a solemn religious ceremony, but it is also an event that is deeply rooted in the city of Rome and the lives of its citizens.
With their eyes glued to the live smoke broadcast, the people let out a cheer the moment the decision was made. This old tradition is still drawing fresh attention at the heart of the Vatican today.
