Is the Conclave Process Completely Blind the Whole Way Through? (The Patrick Madrid Show)

🌟 The Caller: Monica from Waco   Monica called in (✨ shoutout to Catholic moms and dads fielding tough questions from their kids! ) with a super-specific query from her 12-year-old: "Is the papal conclave truly blind the whole way through?" Or does someone peek at the votes after each round?     🧐 Patrick's Explanation:   -Each Cardinal, seated at a tiny desk in the Sistine Chapel), writes a name on a ballot.   -Votes are collected and counted carefully: Another cardinal collects the ballots.   -There are multiple eyes on the ballots the whole time to avoid any funny business (no ballot sneaking or swapping allowed).   -Votes are read out loud: In front of everyone! If someone tries to misread or fudge a name, the cardinals can totally call it out.   Needle and Thread Moment! 🪡   -Yes, seriously. After the counting, they literally stitch all the ballots together with thread, sealing them up to prevent tampering.    The Black Smoke:   -If no one hits that two-thirds supermajority, the ballots get torched and black smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel chimney (cue every Catholic running to the news livestream 😆).     -While the actual voting stays secret, during breaks the cardinals might chat about who’s pulling ahead. (“Hey, did you see how many votes Cardinal So-and-So got?)     💬 Patrick’s Big Picture:   The conclave is as secret and protected as possible, but it’s not anonymous forever in the sense that progress is visible and talk happens.   It’s a beautiful balance between holy discernment and human process with lots of safeguards against shenanigans, but also human conversation happening naturally.     The best way to listen to the Best of the Week is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It’s free and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out here.