Secret conclave: Cardinals enter Sistine Chapel to elect pope

Catholic cardinals who will choose the next pope filed into the Sistine Chapel yesterday, before locking themselves away from the world to elect the man they hope can unite a diverse but divided global Church.

In a ritual dating back to medieval times, 133 cardinal electors will take an oath of perpetual secrecy under the gaze of the stern Christ depicted in Michelangelo’s Last Judgement fresco, which adorns the chapel.

They will then hold their first ballot looking for a successor to Pope Francis, who died last month.

No pope has been elected on the first day of a conclave for centuries and voting could continue for several days before one man receives the necessary two-thirds majority to become the 267th pontiff.

Only one ballot was scheduled for yesterday. Thereafter, there can be as many as four votes a day.

The cardinals walked slowly into the chapel, taking part in a solemn Latin chant called the litany of the saints.

They beseeched nearly 100 men and women believed to reside in heaven to pray for them as they prepare to make what arguably will be the most momentous decision of their lives.

After the cardinals have pronounced their oath, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the Vatican’s master of ceremonies, will pronounce the Latin command “Extra omnes!” (Everyone out!), telling all those not involved in the gathering to leave.

The chapel’s heavy wooden doors will then slam shut.

The only expected signal from the cardinals during the conclave will come in the form of smoke from a chimney atop the chapel, as the clerics burn their ballots.

Black smoke will mark an inconclusive vote; white smoke and the pealing of bells will signal that the 1.4-billion-member Church has a new leader.

At a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica yesterday before entering the conclave, the cardinals prayed that God would help them find a pope who would exercise “watchful care” over the world.

In a sermon, Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re told his peers they must set aside “every personal consideration” in choosing the new pontiff and keep in mind “only … the good of the Church and of humanity”.

LondonGBDESK//