How the Selection of a New Pope is Kept So Secret

With the papal conclave—the sequestered selection of a new pope by the Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals—beginning today, it seemed timely to consider how this centuries-old tradition has maintained its incredibly high level of secrecy and security over the years.

After all, there may be a few lessons and insights we can glean from their process and apply them to your business and its privacy.

Conclave—”With Key”—is a Tradition Dating Back to the Middle Ages

While the word conclave itself is older than the Catholic faith, the practice wasn’t established until Pope Gregory X set the rules for papal elections in 1274. These rules dictated some pretty clear limits and expectations:

• Cardinals needed to meet in secret to determine who would be the next pope
• Each was allowed a limited number of servants
• Rations were provided through a window, and if a pope wasn’t elected within eight days, they would be limited to bread, water, and wine

The reasons for this isolation were threefold—first, the theological: the idea was that the conclave was the opportunity for God to act through the cardinals, hence, keeping them separated from the world and secular matters helped to keep them open to this inspiration. Second, it helped encourage the cardinals to make their decision relatively hastily. 

The third reason was rooted in secrecy and counterespionage. If nobody could access the cardinals once their deliberations started, nobody could attempt to tip the scales for political reasons. Once the doors were closed, there was to be no communication between the cardinals and the outside world, apart from the smoke signals used to indicate whether a decision had been reached.

That said, these rules weren’t always followed to the letter. For instance, despite there being a one-to-two limit on the number of servants a cardinal could have with them, hundreds of people were once present at a conclave with only 50 or so cardinals in attendance. While most conclaves throughout history required the cardinals to stay in the Sistine Chapel itself, a 1996 change by Pope John Paul II established that the newly constructed Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse would be where the cardinals stayed throughout the process.

These traditional security measures are still in place today and are now augmented by modern tools, creating a pretty comprehensive approach to protecting the sanctity of the cardinals’ deliberations.

How Does Modern Technology Complicate (and Augment) Conclave Security?

While the security preparations are, understandably, kept extremely confidential, there are some things that we know the Vatican does to preserve the conclave. For instance, authorities will scour the Vatican for devices before the conclave even begins, while checking all attendees and participants for such devices at least once upon entry. Of course, the Vatican typically has Internet access, which would ordinarily undercut the concept of confidentiality. However, using signal jammers in areas where the cardinals will be prevents information from potentially coming in or out through a device.

In addition, satellites pose a far greater complication now, as modern ones are capable of capturing detailed images from orbit and, especially when paired with artificial intelligence, can even read lips. 

However, by locking the cardinals away for all deliberations, their conversations are shielded by the walls of the Sistine Chapel itself. The cardinals are also forbidden from looking outside, and now the windows are equipped with opaque film that prevents any photographs from being captured.

These advancements also apply to the security outside the chapel, around Vatican City as a whole. While typically photographed in their traditionally colorful garb, the army of the Pontifical Swiss Guard (Guardia Svizzera Pontificia) has augmented their halberds with modern heavy firearms and explosives. This is in addition to the Gendarmerie Corps of Vatican City State (Corpo di Gendarmeria Papale) police force, which oversees the usual police functions throughout the city-state. Assisting the Gendarmerie in their watch is an extensive system of high-definition security cameras keeping careful watch from an underground command center.

While More Than What Most Businesses Can Manage, It Helps to Take a Note from the Vatican’s Preparations

Admittedly, the Vatican has considerably more resources than the average small-to-medium business can muster, but the concepts are still applicable. For instance:

• Just as the Sistine Chapel is sealed from all except the College of Cardinals, access controls can prevent those without authorization from entering places they shouldn’t be… whether digital or physical.
• The entire process is similar to the principle of least privilege, which is often endorsed to businesses. Only those directly involved in the decision to elect the new pope are privy to key information.
• Inside the conclave, all notes and votes are systematically burned as a means of protecting the data they contain. We recommend businesses do the same with technology being disposed of, to avoid data breaches and leaks.

If you would like to take a page out of Vatican City’s playbook where your business’ security and its severity are concerned, we are here to help. Reach out to Accucom at (02) 8825-5555 to learn more.