March 13, 2013. It was raining in Rome. Not just a drizzle, but that gray, soaking Italian rain that makes the cobblestones in St. Peter’s Square look like polished mirrors. Thousands of people were standing there, necks craned, staring at a single, tiny copper chimney poking off the roof of the Sistine Chapel.
Earlier that afternoon, a puff of smoke had gone up, but it was that frustrating, murky gray color. Was it white? Was it black? The crowd was literally arguing about it. Then, the bells started. That deep, rhythmic booming of the Great Bell of St. Peter’s. That was the signal. How Pope Francis was elected wasn't just a change in leadership; it was a total shock to the system of a 2,000-year-old institution.
Honestly, nobody—and I mean nobody—expected Jorge Mario Bergoglio to step onto that balcony. He wasn't the "pope-able" candidate (the papabile) the media was obsessed with. He was 76 years old. He had one lung that didn't work right. He was from "the end of the world," as he later joked. But inside those locked doors, something shifted fast.
The Shocking Resignation That Started It All
You can't talk about the 2013 election without talking about the guy who left. Benedict XVI.
On February 11, 2013, Benedict did something no pope had done in almost 600 years: he quit. He told a room full of cardinals—in Latin, no less—that he just didn't have the "strength of mind and body" to keep going. It was a bombshell. Usually, you leave the papacy in a casket. By resigning, Benedict essentially told the Church that the job had become too big, too complex, and too exhausting for an 85-year-old man.
This created a weird vacuum. The Church was messy. There were the "Vatileaks" scandals (leaked documents showing infighting and corruption), the ongoing shadow of the sexual abuse crisis, and a feeling that the central bureaucracy in Rome—the Curia—was a tangled web of red tape and ego.
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The cardinals arrived in Rome in early March with a massive weight on their shoulders. They weren't just looking for a holy guy; they were looking for a janitor, a CEO, and a shepherd all wrapped into one.
Inside the Conclave: How the Voting Actually Works
Basically, once the 115 voting cardinals (those under 80 years old) walk into the Sistine Chapel, they are locked in. Extra omnes—everyone else out. They sleep in a plain boarding house called the Casa Santa Marta and spend their days under the gaze of Michelangelo’s "Last Judgment."
There’s no campaigning. No "Vote for Bergoglio" posters. But there is a lot of talking during the "General Congregations" before the doors lock. This is where the real work happens. Cardinal Bergoglio reportedly gave a speech during these meetings that changed everything. He didn't talk about theology or canon law. He talked about a Church that needed to "go out to the peripheries." He said the Church becomes "self-referential" and "sick" if it stays closed in on itself.
That struck a chord.
The Secret Ballots
The voting is incredibly formal. Each cardinal writes a name on a rectangular piece of paper. They fold it, walk up to the altar, and swear an oath: "I call as my witness Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who before God I think should be elected."
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- The First Ballot (March 12): This is usually a "temperature check." Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan was the favorite. He got 30 votes. Bergoglio got 26. This was the first hint that the "outsider" from Argentina was a real contender.
- The Second and Third Ballots (Morning of March 13): Scola’s support stalled. Bergoglio’s numbers started climbing.
- The Fourth and Fifth Ballots (Afternoon of March 13): By the fifth ballot, Bergoglio hit the magic number: 77 votes (two-thirds of the 115 electors).
Actually, there was a little drama on the fourth ballot. Someone accidentally put an extra, blank piece of paper in the urn, which meant the vote was technically invalid according to the rules. They had to burn those ballots immediately and vote again. That fifth vote was the one that made him Pope.
"Don't Forget the Poor"
The moment Bergoglio hit 77 votes, the cardinals started clapping. His good friend, Cardinal Claudio Hummes from Brazil, leaned over, hugged him, and whispered, "Don't forget the poor."
Bergoglio later said those words stuck in his head. When they asked him what name he wanted to take, he didn't pick Leo or Pius or Benedict. He picked Francis. After St. Francis of Assisi. No pope had ever used that name. It was a massive statement. It meant: I’m here for the poor, I’m here for peace, and I’m here to fix a broken Church.
Why Most People Get the Election Results Wrong
People think it was a "liberal vs. conservative" fight. It wasn't that simple. Many of the cardinals who voted for Bergoglio were actually quite conservative on doctrine. What they wanted was a reformer. They were tired of the Roman Curia's internal politics. They wanted someone from the "outside" who could clean house.
Bergoglio was a Jesuit. Jesuits are known for being intellectuals, but also for being very practical. He lived in a tiny apartment in Buenos Aires, cooked his own meals, and took the bus to work. To the cardinals, he represented a "breath of fresh air" from a part of the world (Latin America) where the Church was actually growing, unlike in Europe.
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The Stats that Mattered
- 115 electors participated.
- 77 votes were needed to win.
- 5 ballots were all it took (one of the fastest conclaves in history).
- 1,300 years—that’s how long it had been since a non-European (Gregory III) was pope.
What Happened the Moment He Was Elected
When the white smoke finally poured out at 7:06 PM, the world went nuts. But inside, Bergoglio was doing things differently. He refused to stand on the raised platform to receive the "obedience" of the cardinals. He stayed on their level.
Then, he went to the balcony. If you watch the video, he looks almost dazed. He didn't give a grand, flowery speech. He just said "Buonasera" (Good evening). And then, in a move that broke every protocol in the book, he asked the crowd to pray for him and bowed down before he gave them his blessing.
Why How Pope Francis Was Elected Still Matters Today
The way he was chosen tells you everything about his papacy. He didn't want the red shoes (he kept his old black ones). He didn't want to live in the fancy Apostolic Palace; he still lives in a two-room suite in the Santa Marta guesthouse so he can eat lunch with everyone else in the dining hall.
The election was a pivot point. It signaled that the center of the Catholic Church was no longer just Rome or Europe. It was shifting to the "Global South."
Key Takeaways and Next Steps
If you’re interested in the mechanics of the papacy or want to understand why the Church looks the way it does today, here is what you should do:
- Read "The Great Reformer" by Austen Ivereigh. It’s basically the gold standard for understanding Bergoglio’s life before the Vatican.
- Watch the movie "The Two Popes." While it takes some creative liberties with the dialogue, it captures the incredible tension and contrast between the styles of Benedict and Francis perfectly.
- Check out the "Universi Dominici Gregis." That is the actual document (written by John Paul II and tweaked by Benedict) that contains the "rulebook" for how the conclave is run. It’s fascinatingly detailed, right down to how the ballots are pierced with a needle and thread.
The election of 2013 wasn't just a change of name. It was the moment the Church decided to look in the mirror and realized it needed to change its clothes.
Fact-Check Reference List:
- Vatican Press Office: Official Diary of the Sede Vacante 2013.
- L'Osservatore Romano: Post-Conclave Analysis (March 2013).
- Gerard O'Connell: "The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Account of the Conclave that Changed History."
- Canon Law 332 §2 regarding Papal Resignation.