Legal Definitions - sede vacante

sede vacante

When a position or office is empty, it is called sede vacante. This term is often used to describe a vacant position in the Catholic Church, such as the period of time between the death or resignation of a pope and the election of a new one.

• During the sede vacante period, the College of Cardinals meets to elect a new pope.
• The bishopric was left sede vacante for several months after the previous bishop retired.

These examples illustrate how the term sede vacante is used to describe a period of time when a position or office is vacant. In the first example, the term is used to describe the period of time between the death of a pope and the election of a new one. In the second example, the term is used to describe the period of time when a bishopric was left without a bishop after the previous bishop retired.