The Pope Has Died

As you have probably already heard, Pope John Paul II died today. I am not Catholic but the history and traditions of the Catholic church have always intrigued me. The part that I am most interested in is happening in the upsoming days, the conclave. When the conclave begins, all of the cardinals of the church will gather in the Sistine Chapel and elect a new pope.

Usually the conclave lasts a matter of days, with black plumes of smoke rising from the chapel to indicate that a vote has not yielded a pope and a single white plume of smoke signaling to the world that a new pope has been chosen. I think the reason I am so interested in these events stems from the fact that while we will all live through quite a few Presidential elections, there will only be two or three Papal elections in our lifespans. The choosing of a new pope is a rather uncommon occurrence.

Anywho, John Paul II has gone to a better place and now is a time of change within the Catholic church.