How The Times Covers the Papal Conclave

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Times Insider
There are, technically, 133 papal contenders but no official candidates. Here’s how a New York Times team determines the front-runners.

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Beginning Wednesday, the doors of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City will close for the conclave, the secretive process of choosing a new pope who will succeed Pope Francis, who died last month at age 88.
One hundred thirty-three cardinals from around the world will lock themselves for hours inside the walls of the chapel, with its Michelangelo frescoes, until one cardinal receives a two-thirds majority.
“It has pure politics, with backstabbing, and throwing people under the bus, and putting up fake candidates,” said Jason Horowitz, the Rome bureau chief for The New York Times, who reported on the papal conclaves in 2005 and 2013. “All the drama involved in that is fascinating.”
The cardinals may vote by secret ballot up to four times per day, with a cloud of either black or white smoke billowing from a chimney atop the chapel roof after each ballot to indicate whether a consensus has been reached. The conclave can take a few hours or nearly three years, the record set in the 13th century.
Once the smoke puffs white, indicating that a pope has been chosen, The Times will have the news, and information about the man selected, on its home page within minutes, with context about his canonical leanings.
“At least, that’s the hope,” Mr. Horowitz said. “We try to be prepared, but there could always be a dark-horse candidate who emerges.”