The cardinals all gathered with the Sistine Chapel in the background. Music played softly in the room. The cardinals formed a line as they voted, one by one tipping their ballot from the gold plate to the chalice.

Theology teacher Jessica Hull dressed as a Head Cardinal and Theology teacher Bonnie Haghirian read the names of the Cardinals who received a vote as the names got threaded on a red string, then burned. This was the freshman conclave that took place March 6 in the Old Grand Salle.

“It was peaceful. It was a lot like communion, going up to the chalice and tipping in my vote,” freshman Laney Ulowetz said.

The idea evolved after the Pope resigned and Hull realized there was about the same number of Cardinals as there are freshman.

“The freshman classes were assigned to research a Cardinal, worked and discussed in small groups, then narrowed who they finally wanted to vote for as Pope,” Hull said.

After three rounds of voting, Fernando Filoni was the winner with 74 percent of the vote. However, days later Rome announced Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis I on March 13.

The Pope resigning is both on the news and on the minds of Catholics worldwide. It is the first time a Pope has resigned in the Modern Church world. In fact, a pope has not resigned since Gregory XII in 1415, according to cnn.com.

“The Pope resigning sets a healthy precedent,” Haghirian said. “It’s good that when a Pope feels he can’t lead effectively, he can step down.”