Laura Gotzi
BBC News
Reports from the Vatican City Batican media/handout materials
The voting desk for the 133 Cardinals is set up inside the Sistine Chapel in front of the Conclave.
On Wednesday evening, 133 Cardinals vote to elect Pope 267 of the Catholic Church, under the dome ceiling of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.
The day begins at 10:00 (09:00 BST) at St. Peter’s Basilica Mass. The airing service was primarily done by Giovanni Batista Le, a 91-year-old dean of the department, who was also a celebration of Pope Francis’ funeral.
Early in the afternoon, mobile signals within the Vatican territory are invalidated to prevent people participating in the Conclave from contacting the outside world.
Around 16:15 (15:15 BST), 133 cardinal electors gather at Pauline Chapel to form a procession for the Sistine Chapel.
All along, they have sung the Creator of Rittany and the Hymn Venice – the call to the Holy Spirit is considered a leadership hand that will help the Cardinals choose a new Pope.
Once one hand rests on a copy of the gospel, the cardinal pronounces a secret, prescribed vow that prevents them from sharing details about how the new Pope was elected.
Meditation is held when the last electors make their vows. Diego Ravelli, master of the Clergy Liturgy, will then present “Extra Omness” (“Everyone Out”).
He is one of three church staff members who were allowed to stay at Sistine Chapel despite having to leave the facility when counting votes.
The “extra omness” moment marks the beginning of the cardinal isolation and the beginning of the conclave.
Words that come from the Latin “camclave” or “locked to the key” are slightly misleading, as the cardinals are no longer trapped inside. Rather, on Tuesday, Vatican officials closed the entrance to the Apostles Palace. This has a lead seal that remains until the end of the lawsuit. Swiss security guards hold all the entrances in the chapel.
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The Cardinals gathered during Pope Francis’ funeral in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican in April
Diego Ravelli distributes the ballots and the Cardinals immediately proceed to the first vote.
There is nothing to bar the Pope from being elected in the first vote, but that hasn’t happened for centuries. Still, that first vote is extremely important, says Austin Everey, a Catholic writer and commentator.
“Cardians with more than 20 votes are considered. In the first vote, the votes are very scattered and we know that the electors have to concentrate on those with numbers,” Ivereigh said.
He added that all other votes then show which of the Cardinals has momentum. “It’s almost like a political campaign, but it’s not really competition. Finding consensus is a physical effort.”
If the vote does not bring the two-thirds of the majority needed to elect a new Pope, the Cardinals will return to Guest House Casa Santa Marta for dinner. On the bystanders of the voting process, important conversations between the cards take place, with consensus beginning to surround different names.
According to Italian media, menu options are usually served to residential guests and consist of light dishes that contain wine but not spirit. The waiter and kitchen staff are also vowed to be secrets and cannot leave the grounds during the Conclave period.
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Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88 on Monday, 2025 Easter
Starting Thursday morning, the Cardinals will have breakfast between 06:30 (05:30) and 07:30 (06:30 BST) and prior to Mass at 08:15 (07:15 BST). Two votes are then given in the morning, followed by lunch and rest. In his memoirs, Pope Francis said that serious consensus began to form around him when he began to receive signals from other cardinals. He was elected during his first afternoon vote. All the last two permutations were finished by the end of the second day.
At this stage there is no way to know if this is a long or short conclave, but Cardinals recognizes that dragging procedures can be interpreted as a sign of great disagreement.
As they argue, pray and vote, outside the windows boarded by the Sistine Chapel, thousands of faithful people look up at the chimney on the right of St. Peter’s Cathedral, waiting for the white feathers of smoke to inform the next Pope that he has been elected.
