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The Covered Throne. For the duration of the conclave the cardinals—ranged on their thrones along the walls of the Sistine Chapel—in effect share the powers of the papacy. But from the moment the new Pope accepts his election, they revert to their usual status. To signify this fact, the cardinals tug heavy silken cords to drop the baldachin that hangs over each chair, leaving only the new Pope's throne covered. As the cardinals line up to kiss the Pope's slipper, knee and cheek, he faces for the first time the responsibilities that Monsignor Bacci defined:
"He will have to be a pastor of souls. He will have to bring together in one embrace the Western and Eastern churches.
"He will have to be a father. When one is called to the supreme pontificate he no longer belongs to himself nor to a single people but to all peoples . . . His heart, inflamed with love, will have to beat particularly tenderly, especially for peoples oppressed by an absolute, tyrannical and persecuting power . . ."