Who's Who

The Pope 
The full title of the Pope is: Bishop of Rome; Vicar of Jesus Christ; Successor of Saint Peter, the Prince of the Apostles; Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church; Patriarch of the West; Primate of Italy; Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Province of Rome; Sovereign of the State of Vatican City. The number of titles reflects the history of the Papacy, originating in the days of the Holy Roman Empire. It is the longest surviving institution in the world. 

The Electors of the Pope are the Members of the College of Cardinals who have not yet celebrated their eightieth birthday at the time The Pope has died and the Holy See has become vacant.

Possible Popes
Possible Popes are, strictly speaking, any male Christian cleric or layman, who is not a heretic, in schism, or notorious for simony. He has to have reached the age of reason. However, the last Pope who was not a Cardinal was Pope Urban VI who was elected in 1378. With this election, the Church was thrown into forty years of the Great Schism of the West. At one point in this Schism, there were three Popes claiming valid election. Consequently, since Pope Urban VI, every Pope has been elected from the members of the College of Cardinals.

The Cardinal Camerlengo or Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church
The Vatican Secretary of State, this is the man responsible for officially pronouncing that the Pope is dead.

As the reigning Pontiff appoints him to the post personally, at the death of the Pope all of his powers as the Vatican Secretary of State cease. If the Pope has not made this appointment, for instance in the event of a sudden death, this position is elected provisionally by a secret ballot of the Cardinal Electors.

It is the Cardinal Camerlengo who smashes the deceased Pope's Fisherman’s Ring at the next meeting of the Cardinals. The matrix, the instrument with which the deceased Pope sealed the papal bulls, is scraped. These two items signify Papal authority. Their destruction signifies that for the time being there is no such authority. 

The Cardinal Dean 
The Cardinal Dean convokes the Sacred College of Cardinals, all of who must obey his summons, unless legitimately impeded. It is the Cardinal Dean who officiates at the funeral liturgy of the deceased Pope. When an election has taken place, it is the Cardinal Dean who asks, "Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?" At the moment acceptance is spoken, that man becomes Pope. Then it is the Cardinal Dean who asks, "By what name do you wish to be called?" 

The Cardinal Major Penitentiary 
The Pope also appoints the Cardinal Major Penitentiary personally. It is to him that the gravest cases of conscience are submitted for absolution, which must always be available. 

The Cardinal Vicar of Rome 
The Cardinal Vicar of Rome is equal to the Vicar General of a Diocese. 

The Cardinal Archpriest of Saint Peter’s Basilica 
The Cardinal Archpriest of Saint Peter's Basilica is also the Vicar General for Vatican City.