Universi Dominici Gregis is an apostolic constitution of the Roman Catholic Church issued by Pope John Paul II on February 22, 1996.
Universi Dominici Gregis ('the Lord's whole flock', from the opening statement 'The Shepherd of the Lord's whole flock is the Bishop of the Church of Rome,...'), subtitled On the Vacancy of the Apostolic See and the Election of the Roman Pontiff, deals with the vacancy of the Chair of St Peter and Bishop of Rome namely the Pope.
The constitution modified the rules for the conclave such that the rules today are as follows:
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Cardinals must be no more than eighty years of age on the day before the death or resignation of the Pope.
- No more than 120 Cardinals may vote.
- A Pope shall be elected by a vote of two-thirds.
- Maximum of two votes in the morning and two each afternoon, totaling four votes will be held daily.
- After a total of 33 or 34 ballots depending whether a ballot took place on the afternoon of the first day, an absolute majority of the College of Cardinals may change the election rule. However, there can be no waiving of the requirement such that a valid election takes place by less than an absolute majority of the votes.
Strict secrecy is to be ensured throughout the process. Anyone violating the security of the Vatican, introducing recording equipment, or communicating with a cardinal elector in any way, risks excommunication. Other penalties are at the discretion of the incoming Pope. Various oaths are also required to be taken by the participants, to ensure that they will act properly.
Previously, other methods were allowed for the conduct of the election. A committee of some of the cardinals might have been delegated, to make the choice for all (election by compromise, per compromissum). Alternatively, formal ballots could be discarded: in election by acclamation (per acclamationem seu inspirationem) the electors simultaneously shout out the name of their preferred candidate. Both of these methods have now been abolished: the rationale is that they tended to produce controversy, and in any case had not been used for some time (the last compromise election was of Pope John XXII in 1316, and the last affirmation (acclamation) election was of Pope Gregory XV in 1621).
Also Universi Dominici Gregis provided that Cardinals would be housed in Domus Sanctae Marthae, a building with dormitory type accommodations built within the Vatican City. Previously Cardinals were housed in improvised accommodations which were often not noted for being particularly comfortable.
The Papal election of 2005 was the first papal election to be held under this system. If Pope Benedict XVI follows the custom of his predecessors in writing a new election constitution, it will also be the last.
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