View source for 2005 conclave

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox papal conclave
| month = April
| year = 2005
| dates = 18–19 April 2005
| location = [[Sistine Chapel]], [[Apostolic Palace]],<br>[[Vatican City]]
| dean = [[Joseph Ratzinger]]
| vicedean = [[Angelo Sodano]]
| camerlengo = [[Eduardo Martínez Somalo]]
| protopriest = [[Stephen Kim Sou-hwan]]
| protodeacon = [[Jorge Medina (cardinal)|Jorge Medina]]
| secretary = [[Francesco Monterisi]]
| electors = 115 ([[Cardinal electors in the 2005 papal conclave|list]])
| candidates = See {{lang|it|[[#Papabili|papabili]]}}
| ballots = 4
| pope_elected = [[Joseph Ratzinger]]
| nametaken = Benedict XVI
| image = Бенедикт XVІ (cropped).jpg
| prevconclave_year = October 1978
| prevconclave_link = October 1978 conclave
| nextconclave_year = 2013
| nextconclave_link = 2013 conclave
}}

A [[papal conclave]] was held on 18 and 19 April 2005 to elect a new [[pope]] to succeed [[John Paul II]], who had died on 2 April 2005. Of the 117 eligible [[Cardinal electors in the 2005 papal conclave|cardinal electors]], all but two attended. On the fourth ballot, the conclave elected Cardinal [[Joseph Ratzinger]], the [[dean of the College of Cardinals]] and prefect of the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] (CDF). After accepting his election, he [[Papal name|took the name]] ''Benedict XVI''. Ratzinger was the first cardinal from the [[Roman Curia]] to become pope since [[Pius XII]] in [[1939 conclave|1939]].

==Papal election process==
The papal election process began soon after the [[death of Pope John Paul II]] on 2 April 2005.

===New voting procedures===
Pope John Paul II laid out new procedures for the election of his successor in his 1996 [[apostolic constitution]] ''[[Universi Dominici gregis]]''.<ref name="UDG">{{cite web|url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis.html|title=Universi Dominici Gregis|author=Pope John Paul II|date=22 February 1996|website=The Holy See|publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana |access-date=7 September 2017}}</ref> It detailed the roles of the cardinals and the support personnel, the scheduling of the conclave, the text of the oaths, the penalties for violating secrecy, and many details, including the shape of the ballots ("the ballot paper must be rectangular in shape"). He denied the cardinal electors the right to choose a pope by acclamation or by assigning the election to a select group of cardinals (by compromise). He also established new voting procedures that the cardinals could follow if the balloting continued for several days, but those were not invoked in this conclave. He maintained the rule established by [[Pope Paul VI|Paul VI]] that cardinals who reached the age of eighty before the day the pope died would not participate in the balloting.

In previous conclaves, the cardinal electors lived in the [[Sistine Chapel]] precincts throughout the balloting. Conditions were spartan and difficult for the cardinals with health problems. Showers and bathroom facilities were shared and sleeping areas separated by curtains.<ref>{{cite book | access-date = 17 September 2017 | last= Pham | first= John-Peter |url = https://archive.org/details/heirsoffisherman00pham | url-access = registration | page=[https://archive.org/details/heirsoffisherman00pham/page/125 125] | title= Heirs of the Fisherman: Behind the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession |publisher= Oxford University Press | date=2004| isbn= 9780195346350 }}</ref> John Paul kept the voting in the Sistine Chapel, but provided for the cardinal electors when not balloting to live, dine, and sleep in air-conditioned individual rooms in [[Domus Sanctae Marthae]], better known by its Italian name Casa Santa Marta, a five-story building that was completed in 1996, that normally serves as a guesthouse for visiting clergy.

The cardinals departed from his instructions only in that they did not assemble in the [[Cappella Paolina|Pauline Chapel]]. Restoration work begun in 2002 required a change of venue,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mv.vatican.va/4_ES/pages/z-Patrons/MV_Patrons_07_01.html|title=The restoration of the Pauline Chapel|access-date=29 January 2014|publisher=Vatican Museums}}</ref> and they used the Hall of Blessings instead.

===Cardinal electors===
{{Main|Cardinal electors in the 2005 papal conclave}}
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders floatright"
|+Cardinal electors by region
|-
!colspan="2" style="padding:1em"|[[File:Conclave 2005 by continent.svg|frameless|200px|center|alt=Graphic with the numbers of cardinal electors in attendance from each region]]
|-
!scope="col"|Region
!scope="col"|Number
|-
|scope="row"|{{Legend|#0C2779|Italy}}
|style="text-align:center"|20
|-
|scope="row" data-sort-value="Europe, Rest of"|{{Legend|#6767E2|Rest of Europe}}
|style="text-align:center"|38
|-
|scope="row" data-sort-value="America, North"|{{Legend|#803D2C|North America}}
|style="text-align:center"|22
|-
|scope="row" data-sort-value="America, South"|{{Legend|#D49382|South America}}
|style="text-align:center"|12
|-
|scope="row"|{{Legend|#F7CC0C|Asia}}
|style="text-align:center"|10
|-
|scope="row"|{{Legend|#F7CC0C|Oceania}}
|style="text-align:center"|2
|-
|scope="row"|{{Legend|#434343|Africa}}
|style="text-align:center"|11
|-
!style="text-align:center"|Total
!115
|}
Although there were 183 cardinals in total, cardinals aged 80 years or more at the time the papacy became vacant were ineligible to vote in the conclave, according to the rules established by [[Pope Paul VI]] in 1970 and modified slightly in 1996 by Pope John Paul II.<ref name=UDG/> At the time of Pope John Paul's death, there were 117 cardinals under the age of 80.{{efn|John Paul II had appointed one cardinal secretly (''[[in pectore]]'') in 2003, but never revealed that person's identity.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-07-fg-secret7-story.html | work = Los Angeles Times | access-date = 7 September 2017 | date = 7 April 2005 | title= Mystery Cardinal Will Never Be Able to Join Peers | first = Richard | last = Boudreaux}}</ref>}}

The cardinal electors came from slightly over fifty nations, a slight increase from the 49 represented at the 1978 conclave. About 30 of those countries had a single participant. The Italian electors were the most numerous with 20, while the United States had the second largest group with 11. Poor health prevented two of the 117 cardinal electors from attending: [[Jaime Sin]] of the [[Philippines]] and [[Adolfo Antonio Suárez Rivera]] of [[Mexico]].<ref name="silence">{{cite news|title=Les cardinaux décident le silence média| language=fr | url=http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/monde/20050409.OBS3509/les-cardinaux-decident-le-silence-media.html|access-date=24 August 2017|work=Le Nouvel Observateur|date=22 April 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Collins|first1=Paul|title=God's New Man: The Election of Benedict XVI and the Legacy of John Paul II|date=2005|publisher=Continuum|page=128|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=URqJtxRCoekC&pg=PA128|access-date=24 August 2017|isbn=9780826480156}}</ref>{{efn|Some reports said Cardinal Sin had hoped for medical clearance to travel. He died in June.<ref>{{cite news|last1=O'Donnell|first1=Michelle|title=Cardinal Jaime Sin, a Champion of the Poor in the Philippines, Is Dead at 76|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/21/obituaries/cardinal-jaime-sin-a-champion-of-the-poor-in-the-philippines-is.html|access-date=24 August 2017|work=The New York Times|date=21 June 2005}}</ref>}} All the electors were appointed by Pope John Paul II, except for three: Jaime Sin, who was not attending, [[William Wakefield Baum]], and Joseph Ratzinger,<ref name=mossa>{{cite news | access-date = 26 August 2017 | language = it |work ={{Lang|it|La Repubblica}} | date = 10 April 2015 | url = http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2005/04/10/la-mossa-di-ratzinger-per-il-silenzio.html |title=La mossa di Ratzinger per il silenzio dei cardinali| first = Marco | last =Politi}}</ref> making Baum and Ratzinger the only participants with previous conclave experience from the two conclaves of 1978.{{efn|The [[Papal conclave, 1903|1903 conclave]] had only one elector with previous conclave experience<ref name=fjb195>{{cite book| title = Behind Locked Doors: A History of the Papal Elections | url = https://archive.org/details/behindlockeddoor00fred | url-access = registration | first = Frederic J. | last= Baumgartner | pages= [https://archive.org/details/behindlockeddoor00fred/page/195 195]–196, 201 | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | date= 2003| isbn = 9780312294632 }}</ref> and the [[1823 papal conclave|1823 conclave]] only two,<ref>{{cite book|title=Papal Elections in the Age of Transition, 1878-1922|first=Francis A.|last=Burkle-Young|year=2000|pages=25–26|isbn=9780739101148|publisher=Lexington Books}}</ref> a function of the age at which cardinals are appointed and the length of a pontificate. The 1878 conclave had three cardinals who had participated in the 1846 conclave.<ref name=fjb195/>}} With 115 cardinal electors participating, this conclave saw the largest number of cardinal electors ever to elect a pope, a number later matched by the [[2013 papal conclave|2013 conclave]] and surpassed in the [[2025 papal conclave|2025 conclave]]. Both conclaves in 1978 had 111 electors. The required two-thirds majority needed to elect a pope in 2005 was 77 votes.

==''Papabili''==
{{Main|Papabile}}
Although the conclave cardinals may elect any [[baptized]] Catholic male,<ref>Technically, Nicholas II's ''[[In nomine Domini]]'' bull of 1059 laid down that the electors could choose from "another church" if there was no suitable candidate within the Roman church.</ref> the last time a non-cardinal was elected pope was in the [[1378 papal conclave]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=Miranda, Salvador |author1-link=Salvador Miranda (historian) |url=http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/conclave-xiv.htm#1378 |website=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church | title=Conclaves of the 14th Century (1303-1394) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183708/http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/conclave-xiv.htm#1378 |archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> [[Vaticanology|Observers of papal elections]] tend to consider, by a variety of criteria, some cardinals to be more likely to become pope than the others{{snd}}these are the {{lang|it|papabili}}, the plural for {{lang|it|papabile}}, an Italian word loosely translated as "pope-able". Since the set of {{lang|it|papabili}} is a matter of speculation from the press, the election of a non-{{lang|it|papabile}} is not uncommon; recent cases are [[John XXIII]] in 1958, and both [[John Paul I]] and [[John Paul II]] in 1978.

On 2 January 2005, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, quoting unnamed Vatican sources, stated that Cardinal [[Joseph Ratzinger]], the [[dean of the College of Cardinals]], was a frontrunner to succeed [[Pope John Paul II]] if the pope died or became too ill to continue as pope. On 2 April 2005, upon the death of John Paul II, the ''[[Financial Times]]'' gave the odds of Ratzinger getting elected pope as 7–1, the lead position but close to his liberal rivals. On 18 April 2005, the beginning of the conclave, he was identified as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by ''Time''.<ref name="Time 100">{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1972656_1972691_1973018,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618214719/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1972656_1972691_1973018,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=18 June 2010 | title=Time 100 2005 | magazine=Time | date=18 April 2005 | access-date=3 April 2013 | author=Sullivan, Andrew}}</ref> In addition, Cardinal [[Jorge Bergoglio]], the [[archbishop of Buenos Aires]] who would later become [[Pope Francis]] in the 2013 conclave, was also considered to be a ''papabile''.<ref name="National Catholic Reporter">{{cite news|last=Allen Jr.|first=John L.|title=Handicapping the conclave|url=http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/update/conclave/pt041405a.htm|access-date=15 March 2013|newspaper=National Catholic Reporter|date=14 April 2005|archive-date=6 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806032925/http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/update/conclave/pt041405a.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Pre-conclave events==
In the nine-day period of mourning following the funeral services for Pope John Paul II, the cardinals attended a Mass celebrated each day by a senior cleric, often a cardinal elector or a ''papabile'', who had the opportunity to preach a homily. Celebrants included [[Bernard Law]], [[Camillo Ruini]], [[Jorge Medina (cardinal)|Jorge Medina]], [[Eugênio de Araújo Sales]], [[Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir]], [[Leonardo Sandri]], and [[Piergiorgio Silvano Nesti]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wakin|first1=Daniel J.|title=A Time for Mourning, but Also for Study and Very Quiet Politics| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/09/world/worldspecial2/a-time-for-mourning-but-also-for-study-and-very-quiet.html| access-date=24 August 2017|work=The New York Times|date=9 April 2005}}</ref>

On Saturday, 9 April, in Rome, 130 cardinals, including some non-voting cardinals, met in the general congregation and agreed to Ratzinger's proposal that, while it would be unfair for a majority to restrict anyone's right to speak to the press, they might agree to such a restriction unanimously.<ref name=kaiser/><ref name=mossa/> In {{Lang|it|[[La Repubblica]]}}, veteran journalist [[Gad Lerner]] wrote that preventing "public reflection" by the cardinals "mutes their relationship to the world", deprives them of a "beneficial antidote to excessive scheming", and increased the influence of the Curia. He cited "the fertility of ideas" generated by public discussion during the two 1978 conclaves.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2005/04/12/lasciate-parlare-cardinali.html | access-date = 26 August 2017 | date=12 April 2005 | language = it | title = Lasciate parlare i cardinali | trans-title =Let the cardinals speak | work= La Repubblica}}</ref>

Presiding over the pre-conclave events was the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Ratzinger.<ref>{{cite book |last=Guerriero |first=Elio|url=https://archive.org/details/benedictxvihisli0000guer |title=Benedict XVI: His Life and Thought |date=2018 |location=San Francisco|publisher=Ignatius Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/benedictxvihisli0000guer/page/455/mode/1up?q=%22Palace+of+the+Holy+Office%22 455]|via=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-62164-183-4}}</ref> For the first several days, the discussions were conducted largely in Italian, putting some cardinals at a disadvantage. Ratzinger responded to complaints by organizing simultaneous translation.<ref name=kaiser>{{cite book| title= A Church in Search of Itself: Benedict XVI and the Battle for the Future | first= Robert Blair | last = Kaiser | date=2006|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf | pages = 201, 208–210}}</ref> On 14 April, in one of the daily general congregations, they heard the first of two mandated exhortations. The preacher was [[Raniero Cantalamessa]], a [[Capuchin friar]] and church history scholar, who had for several years preached the Lenten sermons to the pope and his staff.<ref name=preachers>{{cite news|last1=Allen Jr.|first1=John L.|title=Two conclave preachers are open, ecumenical|url=http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/update/conclave/pt041305a.htm|access-date=24 August 2017|work=National Catholic Reporter|date=13 April 2005}}</ref><ref name=walsh52>{{cite book|last1=Walsh|first1=Mary Ann|title=From Pope John Paul II to Benedict XVI|date=2005|publisher=Rowman and Littlefield|pages=52–53, 93|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_jqs9rD39ewC&pg=PA52|access-date=24 August 2017|isbn=9781580512022}}</ref>

On 15 April, officials and personnel who were not cardinal electors but had duties during the conclave formally took their oath of secrecy.<ref>{{cite press release| access-date = 27 August 2017 | url = https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2005/documents/ns_lit_doc_20050415_giuramento-conclave_it.html | date= 7 April 2005 | publisher = Ufficio delle Celebrazioni Liturgiche del Sommo Pontefice |title= Notificazione: Giuramento degli Officiali e degli Addetti al Conclave |language = it }}</ref> Their oath bound them to secrecy about anything they would observe in the course of their duties throughout the papal conclave, under pain of punishment at the discretion of the incoming pope. The oath was administered in the Hall of Blessings in the presence of Camerlengo Eduardo Martínez Somalo and two masters of ceremonies.

One round of [[ballot]]ing was to be held the first evening. The balloting would then continue until a new pope was elected, with two ballots each morning and two each afternoon. The traditional procedure is that the ballots are burned, in times past reinforced by adding handfuls of dry or damp straw, to produce white smoke for a conclusive vote or black smoke for an inconclusive one. The straw had been replaced by chemically produced smoke. The ballot slips were to be burned at 12:00 and 19:00, Rome time (10:00 and 17:00 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]) each day.

==Conclave==
===Day one===
On 18 April, the cardinals assembled in St. Peter's Basilica in the morning to concelebrate the Mass {{lang|la|pro eligendo Romano Pontifice}} ({{lit|for the election of the Roman Pontiff}}). As the dean of the College of Cardinals, [[Joseph Ratzinger]] was the principal concelebrant and gave the homily himself.<ref>{{cite book| access-date = 23 August 2017 | title = A Church in Search of Itself: Benedict XVI and the Battle for the Future | first = Robert Blair|last= Kaiser | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=u4JRU70LVoQC&pg=PT209| publisher =Knopf | date =2006  |quote= Ratzinger could have delegated anyone to give the homily, but he delivered it himself.| isbn = 9780307424280 }}</ref><ref name="Ratzinger Homily">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/gpII/documents/homily-pro-eligendo-pontifice_20050418_en.html|title=Homily of His Eminence Card. Joseph Ratzinger, Dean of the College of Cardinals (English version)|publisher=Vatican.va|access-date=10 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="Pro Eligendo Press release">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2005/documents/ns_lit_doc_20050418_messa-pro-eligendo_it.html|title=Solemn Eucharistic celebration with the Votive Mass "Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice": Announcement|publisher=Vatican.va|language=it|access-date=10 January 2014}}</ref> In the afternoon, the cardinal electors assembled in the Hall of Blessings for the procession to the Sistine Chapel.<ref name="Procession announcement">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2005/documents/ns_lit_doc_20050418_ingresso-conclave_it.html|title=Notificazione: Ingresso in Conclave |trans-title=Notice: Entrance into Conclave |language=it| publisher=Vatican.va| access-date=13 January 2014}}</ref> The cardinal electors proceeded to the Sistine Chapel while the [[Litany of Saints]] was chanted. After taking their places, the ''[[Veni Creator Spiritus]]'' ("Come, Creator Spirit") was sung. Cardinal Ratzinger read the oath. Each cardinal elector, beginning with Ratzinger and followed by Vice Dean Angelo Sodano and the other cardinals in order of seniority, affirmed the oath by placing his hands on the book of the [[Gospel]]s saying aloud: "And I, [name], do so promise, pledge, and swear. So help me God and these Holy Gospels, which I touch with my hand."

Archbishop [[Piero Marini]], the [[Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff|papal master of ceremonies]], intoned the words {{lang|la|[[wikt:extra omnes#Phrase|Extra omnes]]}} ("Everybody out!"), and the members of the choir, security guards, and others left the chapel. The doors of the chapel were then closed. Cardinal [[Tomáš Špidlík]], a non-elector and a Jesuit theologian, delivered the second required exhortation. He and Marini then left.<ref name=preachers/><ref name=walsh52/>

====First ballot====
According to the Italian daily ''[[Il Messaggero]]'', [[Carlo Maria Martini]], the archbishop of Milan, obtained 40 votes on the first ballot, Ratzinger obtained 38 votes, and [[Camillo Ruini]] a substantial number of votes, the rest of the votes being dispersed.<ref>{{cite book | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdmlSB3efvgC&pg=PT337 | title= L'entità | first= Eric | last= Frattini | access-date=30 May 2018 | publisher= Fazi Editore| language=it | date= 2008| isbn= 9788864113456 }}</ref> An anonymous cardinal provided his diary to an Italian journalist in September 2005,<ref name=brunelli>{{cite news| access-date=30 May 2018 |language=it | date= 23 September 2005| title= I segreti del Conclave "Così vinse Ratzinger" | url= http://www.repubblica.it/2005/i/sezioni/esteri/benedetto/segretielez/segretielez.html | first= Lucio | last=Brunelli }}</ref> and it was published in full in 2011.<ref>{{cite news | work= La Stampa | access-date=30 May 2018 | language=it | date= 27 July 2011| url = http://www.lastampa.it/2011/07/27/vaticaninsider/il-diario-segreto-dellultimo-conclave-vB9KtvKIoPNkP37nFamU2N/pagina.html |first= Andrea | last=Tornielli | title= Il diario segreto dell'ultimo conclave }}</ref> That source gave the results of the first ballot as:<ref name=spills>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/cardinal-spills-secrets-from-conclave/ |title=Cardinal Spills Secrets from Conclave |publisher=Fox News |date=23 September 2005 |access-date=16 August 2013 | agency=Associated Press}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!width="145px"|Cardinals
!width="45px"|Votes
|-
|[[Joseph Ratzinger]]
|<div align="center">47</div>
|-
|[[Jorge Bergoglio]]
|<div align="center">10</div>
|-
|[[Carlo Maria Martini]]
|<div align="center">9</div>
|-
|[[Camillo Ruini]]
|<div align="center">6</div>
|-
|[[Angelo Sodano]]
|<div align="center">4</div>
|-
|[[Oscar Maradiaga]]
|<div align="center">3</div>
|-
|[[Dionigi Tettamanzi]]
|<div align="center">2</div>
|-
|[[Giacomo Biffi]]
|<div align="center">1</div>
|-
|Others
|<div align="center">33</div>
|}

At 20:05 [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]], a thin white plume of smoke seemed for a moment to indicate the election was already over, and the 40,000 people who had spent the afternoon watching the ceremonies on large screens in St. Peter's Square broke into applause and song. But the smoke quickly grew stronger and clearly dark. The crowd quieted and cleared in a matter of minutes.<ref>{{cite news| work= La Repubblica |language=it| access-date = 25 August 2017|url= http://www.repubblica.it/2005/d/sezioni/esteri/papa20/prifu/prifu.html |date=18 April 2005| title= Conclave, nera la prima fumata grande delusione tra i fedeli }}</ref>

===Day two===
====Second ballot====
The two ballots on the morning of the second day failed to result in an election. The results of the second ballot, according to the anonymous cardinal's diary, were:<ref name=spills/>
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!width="145px"|Cardinals
!width="45px"|Votes
|-
|[[Joseph Ratzinger]]
|<div align="center">65</div>
|-
|[[Jorge Bergoglio]]
|<div align="center">35</div>
|-
|[[Angelo Sodano]]
|<div align="center">4</div>
|-
|[[Dionigi Tettamanzi]]
|<div align="center">2</div>
|-
|[[Giacomo Biffi]]
|<div align="center">1</div>
|-
|Others
|<div align="center">8</div>
|}

====Third ballot====
The results of the third ballot, according to the anonymous cardinal's diary, were:<ref name=spills/>{{efn|According to Italian newspapers, Ratzinger had reached or exceeded the required 77 votes on the third ballot, but asked for a vote of confirmation in the afternoon.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}} One account of the election of [[Pope John Paul I|John Paul I]] says he did this in 1978.<ref name=passing>{{cite news | title= Passing the Keys: Modern Cardinals, Conclaves, and the Election of the Next Pope | first =  Francis A. | last = Burke-Young | publisher = Madison Books | date= 1999|pages=257–258 |isbn=
9781568332321|oclc=48917608}}</ref> According to some interpretations this would not be in conformity with the laws governing the conclave.}}
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!width="145px"|Cardinals
!width="45px"|Votes
|-
|[[Joseph Ratzinger]]
|<div align="center">72</div>
|-
|[[Jorge Bergoglio]]
|<div align="center">40</div>
|-
|[[Giacomo Biffi]]
|<div align="center">1</div>
|-
|[[Darío Castrillón Hoyos]]
|<div align="center">1</div>
|-
|Others
|<div align="center">1</div>
|}

Tens of thousands of people waiting in St Peter's Square reacted with timid applause and then silence a little before noon when smoke of indeterminate color appeared and the lack of bell-ringing indicated that the morning's ballotting was inconclusive.<ref name=terzo>{{cite news | language = it | work = La Repubblica | date=19 April 2005|  url = http://www.repubblica.it/2005/d/sezioni/esteri/papa20/rifumnera/rifumnera.html | title=Conclave, terzo scrutinio, fumata nera; In difficoltà il favorito Ratzinger? | access-date = 26 August 2017}}</ref> Press speculation held that "A pope who was elected tonight at the fourth-fifth ballot or tomorrow morning at the sixth-seventh would still be a pontiff elected promptly. Beyond that perhaps some problems might arise."<ref name=terzo/>

Cardinal Biffi consistently received one vote in each ballot of the conclave. He reportedly told a fellow cardinal that, if he found out who this one voter was, he would slap him. Shocked, the cardinal told Biffi that the one voter was Cardinal Ratzinger, who would be elected pope on the next ballot.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-07-11 |title=E' morto l'arcivescovo emerito Giacomo Biffi, il teologo della "città sazia e disperata" |url=https://www.ilrestodelcarlino.it/bologna/cronaca/morto-arcivescovo-emerito-giacomo-biffi-448b60dc |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=Il Resto del Carlino |language=it}}</ref>

By this point, Cardinal Ratzinger had emerged as a strong contender for the papacy and recounted in an April 2005 audience to German pilgrims that he felt as though he was beneath the metaphorical axe of papal election, and his head began to spin. However, a fellow cardinal, later revealed to be [[Christoph Schönborn]], encouraged Ratzinger, reminding him of his quotation of the [[Calling of Matthew]] in his funeral homily for John Paul II and applying it to Ratzinger.<ref>{{Cite web |title=To the German pilgrims gathered in Rome for the inauguration ceremony of the Pontificate (April 25, 2005) {{!}} BENEDICT XVI |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2005/april/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20050425_german-pilgrims.html |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cardinal Schönborn Calls Archbishop Gänswein Book 'Unseemly Indiscretion,' Confirms Key Detail of Benedict Papacy |url=https://www.ncregister.com/cna/cardinal-schoenborn-calls-archbishop-gaenswein-book-unseemly-indiscretion-confirms-key-detail-of-benedict-papacy |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=NCR |date=18 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

Initially, at the conclave, "[the question] was, if not Ratzinger, who?  And as they came to know him, the question became, why not Ratzinger?"<ref name="goodstein">Goodstein, Laurie and Elisabetta Povoledo. [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/world/europe/among-cardinals-deep-divisions-over-next-pope.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 "Before Smoke Rises at Vatican, It's Romans vs. the Reformers,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722190622/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/world/europe/among-cardinals-deep-divisions-over-next-pope.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |date=22 July 2016 }} ''The New York Times''. 11 March 2013; Ivereigh, Austen. [http://www.osvdailytake.com/2013/03/ivereigh-in-rome-does-cardinal.html "Does cardinal confusion spell a long conclave?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316114559/http://www.osvdailytake.com/2013/03/ivereigh-in-rome-does-cardinal.html |date=16 March 2013 }} ''Our Sunday Visitor''. 11 March By Austen Ivereigh; excerpt, "A former communications director to the Archbishop emeritus of Westminster (England), Cardinal [[Cormac Murphy-O'Connor]], he accompanied the cardinal to Rome in 2005 for the funeral of Pope John Paul II and election of Pope Benedict XVI". Retrieved 12 March 2013.</ref>

====Fourth ballot====
The results of the fourth ballot, according to the anonymous cardinal's diary, were:<ref name=spills/>
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!width="145px"|Cardinals
!width="45px"|Votes
|-bgcolor="gold"|
|'''[[Joseph Ratzinger]]'''
|<div align="center">'''84'''</div>
|-
|[[Jorge Bergoglio]]
|<div align="center">26</div>
|-
|[[Bernard Law]]
|<div align="center">2</div>
|-
|[[Giacomo Biffi]]
|<div align="center">1</div>
|-
|[[Christoph Schönborn]]
|<div align="center">1</div>
|-
|Others
|<div align="center">2</div>
|}

Given that Ratzinger, the dean of the College of Cardinals, was elected pope, [[Angelo Sodano]] as the vice-dean performed the dean's role and asked Ratzinger whether he would accept the election and what name he would adopt.<ref name=allen116>{{cite book|last1=Allen Jr.|first1=John L.|title=The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church|date=2005 |publisher=Doubleday |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jXhRFZDK8HIC&pg=PT105|access-date=24 August 2017 |pages=116–118|isbn=9780307424105}}</ref>

As the voting slips and notes were burnt after that ballot, "All of a sudden, the whole Sistine Chapel was filled with smoke," according to [[Adrianus Johannes Simonis]].<ref>{{cite news | work = La Repubblica | access-date = 25 August 2017 | url = http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2005/04/21/un-cardinale-racconta-problemi-con-le-fumate.html | language = it | title = Un cardinale racconta Problemi con le fumate | date= 21 April 2005}}</ref> [[Christoph Schönborn]] joked: "Fortunately, there were no art historians present."

At 17:50 CEST (15:50 UTC), white smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel. The bells of St. Peter's pealed at about 18:10 CEST.<ref name=allen116/>

At 18:43 CEST (16:43 UTC), Cardinal Protodeacon [[Jorge Medina (cardinal)|Jorge Medina]], emerged on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to [[Habemus papam|announce]] the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who took the name ''Benedict XVI''.<ref name=allen116/>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

;Sources
*{{cite book |last=Allen |first=John L. Jr. |year=2005 |title=The Rise of Benedict XVI: The inside story of how the pope was elected and where it will take the Catholic Church |publisher=Doubleday Religion |isbn=0-385-51320-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/riseofbenedictxv00alle }}
*{{cite book |last=Greeley |first=Andrew M. |year=2005 |title=The Making of the Pope: 2005 |publisher=Brown, Little |isbn=0-316-86149-9 }}
*{{cite book |last=Weigel |first=George |year=2005 |title=God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=0-06-621331-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/godschoicepopebe00weig }}

==External links==
* [https://www.vatican.va/gpII/documents/index_en.htm Vacancy of the Apostolic See] (official website)
* [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis_en.html ''Universi Dominici gregis''&nbsp;– the rules governing the election]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050403035135/http://slate.msn.com/id/2089815/ "Papal chase"], 15 October 2003 ([[Slate.com]])

{{Papal elections and conclaves from 1061}}
{{Pope Benedict XVI}}
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[[Category:2005 papal conclave]]
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[[Category:2005 in Christianity|papal]]
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