Sede vacante[a][b] (Latin for “the seat being vacant”) is the period during which a Catholicdiocese orarchdiocese has noprelate in office, with the prelate's office being thecathedral.[c]
The term is most commonly used to describe the interval between the death or resignation of a pope and the election of his successor, when the Holy See is temporarily without a pope.[2]
During a sede vacante, the normal authority of the bishop or pope is suspended, and limited governance is carried out according to church law until a new officeholder is installed.
It was the obligation of theCamerarius (papal chamberlain), the head of theCamera Apostolica, to formally establish the death of the pope.[4] Gradually this led to the theory that the Camerarius as the chief of theRoman Curia should continue to conduct normal business upon the death of the pope and was tasked with the deceased pope’s burial as well as the preparation for the new election. This process was evident during the tenure of CamerariusBoso Breakspeare, nephew of Pope Adrian IV, who served as chamberlain during the late 12th century.[5] During thesede vacante of 1268 to 1271, the importance of the Camerarius was so clear that the cardinals prepared to elect a new one if he died.[5]
The papacy was most recentlysede vacante from 21 April[6][7] to 8 May 2025 following the death ofPope Francis.[8]
According toUniversi Dominici gregis, the government of the Holy See and the administration of the Catholic Church duringsede vacante fall to the College of Cardinals, but in a very limited capacity. At the same time, all the heads of the departments of theRoman Curia "cease to exercise" their offices. The exceptions are theCardinal Camerlengo, who is charged with managing the properties of the Holy See, and theMajor Penitentiary, who continues to exercise his normal role. If either has to do something which normally requires the assent of the pope, he has to submit it to the College of Cardinals.Papal legates continue to exercise their diplomatic roles and both theVicar General of Rome and theVicar General for the Vatican City State continue to exercise their pastoral roles during this period. Thepostal administration of theVatican City State prepares and issues special postage stamps for use during this particular period, known as "sede vacante stamps".
Thecoat of arms of the Holy See also changes during this period. Thepapal tiara over thekeys is replaced with theumbraculum, orombrellino inItalian. This symbolizes both the lack of a pope and the governance of the camerlengo over thetemporalities of the Holy See. The camerlengo also ornaments hisarms with this symbol during this period, which he removes once a pope is elected. Previously during this period, the arms of the camerlengo appeared on commemorativeVatican lira coinage. It now makes its appearance onVatican euro coins, which are legal tender in allEurozone states.
The interregnum is highlighted by thefuneralMass of the deceased pope and the general congregations of the College of Cardinals for determining the particulars of the election, and finally culminating in thepapal conclave to elect a successor. Once a new pope has been elected, andordained bishop if necessary, thesede vacante period ends, even before thepapal inauguration.
Cardinals present in Rome may wait a maximum of fifteen days after the start of the vacancy before they hold the conclave to elect the new pope, although this period may be extended by five days by a vote of the college. After twenty days have passed, they must hold the conclave, even if some cardinals are not present. The period from the death of the pope to the start of the conclave was often shorter, but after CardinalWilliam O'Connell arrived too late for two conclaves in a row,Pope Pius XI extended the time limit. With the next conclave in 1939, cardinals began to travel by air. Days before his resignation in February 2013,Pope Benedict XVI amended the rules to allow the cardinals to begin the conclave sooner if all voting cardinals are present.[10]Sede vacante periods may be months or years long due to deadlocked conclaves, but are less than a month long most of the time.
The longest period without a pope in the last 250 years was the approximately half-year from the death in prison ofPius VI in 1799 and the election ofPius VII inVenice in 1800.
Conclaves and papal elections are generally completed in short order, but there have been several periods when the papacy has been vacant for months or even years.
The following table detailssede vacante periods in excess of a year:
The termsede vacante can be applied to Catholic dioceses, archdioceses, andeparchies other than the Papacy when abishop orarchbishop has died, resigned, been transferred, or lost his office. If there is acoadjutor bishop for the diocese, the coadjutor bishop immediately succeeds to theepiscopal see and no period ofsede vacante occurs.
If the college of consultors fails to elect a qualifying person within the time allotted, the choice of an administrator passes to themetropolitan archbishop or, if the metropolitan see is vacant, to the senior-most suffragan bishop by appointment. Thepope can also decide to name an administrator directly; in this case the role isapostolic administrator. If the apostolic administrator is a diocesan bishop or archbishop of a diocese or archdiocese, he temporarily governs the vacant diocese as well as his own.[15] The administrator has powers similar to those of a bishop or archbishop, except for matters excepted by the nature of the matter or expressly by law.[16] Canon law subjects his activity to various legal restrictions and to special supervision by the college of consultors (as for example canons 272 and 485).
Until an administrator is in place, the governance of the see is entrusted, with the powers of avicar general, to the (senior)auxiliary bishop, if there is one, or otherwise to the college of consultors as a whole.
Vicars general and episcopal vicars who serve as a bishop's deputy lose their ability to exercise the bishop's executive powers duringsede vacante;[17] a vicar general who is himself a bishop retains the powers of his own office, to exercise under the authority of the administrator.[18] However, vicar generals retain the duties and responsibilities of the office duringsede vacante, serving alongside thediocesan orapostolic administrator to maintain continuity until the succeeding bishop is installed or assumes office on a diocese.
Thecoat of arms of the departing bishop or archbishop may continue to be used duringsede vacante while awaiting the installation of a successor. Once a successor is installed and thesede vacante period ends, the diocese will begin using the new bishop's arms.
While an episcopal seat issede vacante, churches in the diocese will skip the usual mention of the local bishop in theEucharistic Prayer of theMass: after mentioning thePope, the celebrant will either immediately say “and all the clergy”, or refer to all bishops as “the Order of Bishops.” If the administrator overseeing thesede vacante period is a bishop, however, his name may be mentioned ("our Administrator", or simply as "our Bishop") as if the diocese has a prelate installed in office.
The administrator may not sit on thecathedra – the vacant seat itself – even if he is himself a bishop or archbishop, as he is not the bishopof the vacant see. He may only use a chair reserved for the main celebrant of a Mass.
The termsede vacante is also used in theAnglican Communion, including in the canon law of theChurch of England.[22] When a diocesan see is vacant, its temporalities vest in theCrown as guardian, including the bishop's right of patronage tobenefices. The exercise of this is termed the Crown'ssede vacante patronage.[23] It is also used in other contexts where there is a vacancy in a see.[24][25][26]
^Noble, Thomas F. X. (1984).The Republic of St. Peter : the birth of the Papal State, 680-825. Philadelphia. p. 207.ISBN0-8122-7917-4.OCLC10100806.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^As is usual in English, in canon law also (Code of Canon Law, canon 203), the initial day is not counted in calculating the length of a period, unless the period began with the beginning of the day.
^SeeCodex Iuris Canonici Canon 502 § 3 (noting that an episcopal conference can transfer the functions of the consultors to the cathedral chapter).
^Sede vacante Wills: A Calendar of Wills Proved Before the Commissary of the Prior and Chapter of Christ Church, Canterbury During Vacancies in the Primacy (Cross & Jackman, 1914)
