The white smoke hasn't drifted over St. Peter’s Square just yet, but the world is watching. Following the passing of Pope Francis in April 2025, the Catholic Church entered a massive period of transition. If you’re asking when is the next vote for pope, the answer is actually found in a very specific, ancient timeline that began the moment the "Fisherman’s Ring" was likely destroyed.
The most recent conclave successfully concluded in May 2025 with the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who took the name Leo XIV. However, understanding the timing of these votes is less about checking a calendar and more about understanding a set of rigid, centuries-old laws that kick in the moment a papacy ends.
How the Vatican Decides When Is the Next Vote for Pope
You can’t just schedule a papal election like a mid-term. It’s a reactive process. According to the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, the clock starts ticking the second the Apostolic See becomes vacant—a state known as Sede Vacante.
Typically, the College of Cardinals has a window of 15 to 20 days after the Pope’s death or resignation to begin the conclave. They need those two weeks for a few reasons. First, cardinals have to fly in from every corner of the globe. You’ve got guys coming from the Philippines, Brazil, and Burkina Faso who all need to get to Rome. Second, they hold "General Congregations." These are basically pre-game meetings where the cardinals chat about the state of the Church and, quite frankly, size each other up.
In the 2025 election cycle, the official date for the start of the conclave was set for May 7, following the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26. This fell right within that 15-to-20-day "sweet spot" mandated by church law.
👉 See also: What Category Was Harvey? The Surprising Truth Behind the Number
The Lock and Key
The word "conclave" literally means "with a key" (cum clave). Once the cardinals go in, they are locked in. No phones. No Wi-Fi. No newspapers. They even sweep the Sistine Chapel for bugs. If you’re caught with a TikTok account open during the vote, you’re looking at immediate excommunication. Serious stuff.
What Happens Inside the Sistine Chapel?
The voting itself is a grind. It’s not a one-and-done ballot. On the first day of the conclave, there is usually just one vote in the afternoon. If that doesn't produce a winner—which it almost never does—they move to a schedule of four votes per day: two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
The math is brutal. A candidate needs a two-thirds majority to win. In 2025, with 133 eligible cardinal electors, that magic number was 89.
Each cardinal writes a name on a rectangular piece of paper disguised by their handwriting (to keep it secret) and walks up to the altar. They hold the ballot up, swear an oath that they are voting for the person they think God wants, and drop it into a chalice.
✨ Don't miss: When Does Joe Biden's Term End: What Actually Happened
Reading the Smoke
We’ve all seen the chimney. If the vote fails, the ballots are burned with a chemical that makes the smoke black. If someone hits the two-thirds mark and says "I accept," they mix in chemicals to turn the smoke white. In 2025, the world saw black smoke for three ballots before the white plumes finally appeared on the afternoon of May 8.
Why the 2025 Election Was Such a Big Deal
The vote for Leo XIV was historic for a few reasons that people are still talking about. For starters, it was the largest conclave ever held. Pope Francis had spent years "stacking" the College of Cardinals with representatives from the "peripheries"—places like Asia and Africa—rather than just the old European powerhouses.
- The American Factor: For a long time, people thought an American pope was impossible. The logic was that the U.S. is already a global superpower, and the Church didn't want the papacy to look like an arm of American foreign policy. Leo XIV (Robert Prevost) broke that ceiling, though his long history in Peru helped bridge that gap.
- The Ideological Split: You had a real tension between the "continuity" candidates who wanted to keep Francis's focus on the environment and the poor, and the "traditionalists" who wanted to return to more rigid doctrine.
Honestly, the "when" of the next vote is always "when it's ready." The Church doesn't like to be rushed. They believe the Holy Spirit is doing the heavy lifting, though there’s plenty of human politicking happening behind those closed doors.
Future Votes: What to Watch For
While Leo XIV is currently reigning, the question of when is the next vote for pope will inevitably rise again. Because popes usually serve until death (Benedict XVI being the rare exception), the timing remains unpredictable.
🔗 Read more: Fire in Idyllwild California: What Most People Get Wrong
If you want to keep an eye on when the next transition might happen, watch the "Red Hat" count. Whenever a Pope appoints a new batch of cardinals, he is essentially choosing the people who will vote for his successor. Currently, the college is more international than it has ever been in history.
Actionable Insights for Church Watchers
If you’re trying to stay ahead of Vatican news, don't just look at the headlines. Check the "Acta Apostolicae Sedis" or reputable outlets like The Tablet or Crux.
- Monitor Cardinal Ages: Only cardinals under 80 can vote. When a big group of "papabili" (pope-candidates) hits 80, the pool changes entirely.
- Watch the Consistories: These are the ceremonies where new cardinals are made. They are the clearest indicator of the Church's future direction.
- Understand the Sede Vacante: If a Pope becomes severely ill, the "Camerlengo" (the chamberlain) becomes the most important person in the Vatican. He's the one who officially confirms the death and starts the election clock.
The papacy is the world's oldest elective office. It's a mix of divine mystery and very human logistics. While the 2025 vote is over, the machinery for the next one is always technically in place, just waiting for the moment the bells of St. Peter's start to toll.