Those taking the oath give a solemn promise to maintain absolute secrecy regarding all matters.
Newsroom (06/05/2025 08:00, Gaudium Press) Officials and staff involved in the upcoming May 7 conclave at the Vatican have taken an oath of secrecy to ensure the integrity of the process to elect the new pontiff, says a report.
The oath of secrecy, as stipulated by the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, took place in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace at 5 p.m. on May 5, the Vatican News reported.
Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, administered the oath that was taken by all individuals, both clergy and laity, approved by him and three cardinal assistants.
Each individual was instructed on the significance of the oath, after which they personally pronounced and signed the prescribed form in the presence of Cardinal Farrell, while two apostolic protonotaries served as witnesses.
Those taking the oath give a solemn promise to maintain absolute secrecy regarding all matters directly or indirectly related to the voting and scrutiny for the election of the next pope.
They also undertake a perpetual obligation to maintain secrecy unless expressly authorized by the newly elected Pope or his successors.
The conclave proceedings prohibit the use of audio and video recording devices, Vatican News reported.
Those who violate the oath of secrecy and the restrictions associated with the process will face latae sententiae or “automatic” excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.
The group of officials who took the oath of secrecy for the conclave includes the Secretary of the College of Cardinals, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, and the seven papal masters of ceremonies, among others.
The ecclesiastic chosen by the cardinal presiding over the Conclave to assist him, two Augustinian religious assigned to the Papal Sacristy, and religious personnel of various languages for confessions also took the oath.
Additional oath takers included medical doctors and nurses, elevator operators of the Apostolic Palace, staff responsible for dining services and cleaning, as well as florists and technical services staff.
Those responsible for transporting electors from the Casa Santa Marta to the Apostolic Palace, the colonel and a major of the Pontifical Swiss Guard assigned to surveillance near the Sistine Chapel, also took the oath.
The Director of Security Services and Civil Protection of the Vatican City State, along with some of his collaborators, also had to undertake the oath of secrecy for the papal conclave.
The centuries-old papal conclave process is held with utmost secrecy, and the cardinals are forbidden from contacting the outside world until they have made a decision.
They are also required to leave their mobiles and other communication devices behind when the voting process begins.
Earlier, the Vatican had announced that it would cut the phone signal within the tiny city-state during the conclave, except for Saint Peter’s Square.
Technicians have blacked out all the windows in the areas used during the conclave and have deactivated “all the technological devices and sensors installed in recent years in the Sistine Chapel.”
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCAN News
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