US children 'elect' Augustine in mock conclave
MANILA, Philippines — Thousands of miles away from the Sistine Chapel, a young group of "cardinals" demonstrated the inner workings of the papal conclave, even electing one among them to be a pope.
Students from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy Chicago, a Catholic school, took part in a mock papal conclave last May 6.
Young boys and girls dressed up as cardinals to perform the different parts of a conclave, including the procession and locking the doors of their "Sistine Chapel."
Their voting process was a bit more casual as the kids went around talking with their schoolmates, taking down notes before choosing whose name to write down.
It took three ballots for the "cardinals" to elect fourth-grader Augie Wilk, who chose the name Augustine.
Wilk was even dressed up in white garments and ushered out into a makeshift balcony where a chimney blew out white smoke.
More students pretended to be onlookers in St. Peter's Square, cheering and waving flags of different countries, including the Philippines as Wilk appeared on a makeshift balcony.
For his closing remarks, Wilk asked his schoolmates to pray for the 133 cardinals in Vatican City currently deciding who will be the next leader of the Catholic Church.
The papal conclave began on May 7 and the first ballot resulted in black smoke emerging from the Sistine Chapel chimney, which means no pope has been elected yet.
Four more ballots will take place daily for the next three days or until an individual is chosen. If no one reaches the two-thirds majority of votes, a day of prayer will be observed then the voting process will continue.
RELATED: First ballot: Black smoke signals no pope yet as conclave voting starts
