12 March, 2013 the papal conclave begins.....

Today the 12 March, 2013 the day the papal conclave will gather under Michelangelo�s frescoes, the "Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican. The cardinals will go through a ballot voting process to elect a new Supreme Pontiff who will represent 1.2-billion worldwide member of the Catholic Church, and he will have to faced the challenging task to tackle and find solutions to their faith related issues.

We have to wait for the white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel to appear, which indicates a new Pope has been successfully elected to fill the current "sede vacante" of Saint Peter. The voting process may go on for several days if no majority two-thirds plus one is achieved. Only when this happen there will be white smoke else we see black smoke which indicates a re-vote will take place.

When we can hope to see the Papal Conclave's decision white smoke?

Tuesday, 12 March 2013 has been announce by Vatican as the date for the conclave to begin elect the Supreme Pontiff, the successor to Benedict XVI. 77/115 votes is required by the cardinal candidate to be the new successor of the Chair of St. Peter.

1st Ballot - 3.00 AM Malaysian Time, Wednesday

2nd Ballot - 6.30 PM Malaysian Time, Wednesday

3rd Ballot - 8.00 PM Malaysian Time, Wednesday

4th Ballot - 1.30 AM Malaysian Time, Thursday

5th Ballot - 3.00 AM Malaysian Time, Thursday

6th Ballot - 6.30 PM Malaysian Time, Thursday

7th Ballot - 8.00 PM Malaysian Time, Thursday

8th Ballot - 1.30 AM Malaysian Time, Friday

9th Ballot - 3.00 AM Malaysian Time, Friday

10th Ballot - 6.30 PM Malaysian Time, Friday

11th Ballot - 8.00 PM Malaysian Time, Friday

12th Ballot - 1.30 AM Malaysian Time, Saturday

13th Ballot - 3.00 AM Malaysian Time, Saturday

Malaysia is 7 hours ahead of Vatican City.

Below is the Vatican insignia representing a the "sede vacante" (vacant see). The emblem is used between the death of a pope and the election of a new one, this period is known as the interregnum.

We pray that the conclave will be able to make a decision vote soon to fill the vacant see.

Papal conclave voting to begin on 12 March, 2013

60 of the cardinals are European, 19 Latin American, 14 North American, 11 African, 10 Asian and one Australian. The conclave of 115 cardinals who will choose the 266th pope, successor to Pope Benedict will begin on 12 March, the Vatican said on Friday. The decision was made after five days of closed-door debate, coming to a decision to begin their secret votes at Sistine Chapel on the afternoon of next Tuesday following a Mass in St Peter's Basilica in the morning. The 115 red-capped prelates under the age of 80 were either appointed by John Paul II or Benedict XVI.

The voting process through balloting and burning of ballots, will continue until one man of God receives a two-thirds majority, or 77 votes. He will then be asked to accept the position and, if he does, will be revealed to the thousands of pilgrims waiting outside in St Peter's square. The last 6 previous popes all have been elected within 4 days, with Benedict in 2005 becoming pontiff in barely 24 hours. In making sure they can all return to their dioceses in time to lead Easter celebrations, the cardinals have decided to make the decision another quick one due to limited time available as the church of 1.2 billion Catholics needs a Supreme Pontiff by Easter.