The cardinals of the Catholic Church today took part in the procession "Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice" in the Basilica of "St. Peter" before the start of the election of a new pope begins later in the day, ANSA reported, quoted by BTA.
The liturgy was led by the dean of the College of Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re and was attended by both the 133 cardinal electors who are participating in the Conclave and those who are not eligible to participate because they are older than 80.
In the afternoon, the cardinals left the residence "Santa Marta" at the Vatican, where most of them are staying during the conclave, to the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace and then head in procession to the Sistine Chapel.
There will be a catechism by Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa and the swearing-in, followed by the first vote on who will succeed Pope Francis.
The 133 cardinals from 70 countries will be confined to the Sistine Chapel, where they will vote in secret and in silence - a process that is intended to be both contemplative and free from outside interference, the Associated Press reports. They will give up their mobile phones, and the signal around the Vatican will be silenced to prevent them from communicating until they choose a new leader of the church with 1.4 billion members, the agency added.
The first smoke signal of the papal conclave will come from the Sistine Chapel "no earlier than 7:00 p.m." (8:00 p.m. Bulgarian time) on Wednesday, the press attaché of the Holy See Matteo Bruni announced yesterday, ANSA recalls.
After that, there will be four votes and two smoke signals per day until the election of a new pontiff.
The new pope will be announced with a Latin proclamation: "Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam!" ("I bring you news of great joy: we have a pope!"), the AP points out. Immediately afterwards, his birth name will be announced, in Latin, followed by the papal name he has chosen, also in Latin.
The 133 cardinals who will elect Pope Francis' successor arrived at the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, ANSA reported minutes ago.
From there, the procession will begin to the Sistine Chapel, where, after the order “Extra Omnes” has been given (Latin: Extra Omnes – – "All Out"), the conclave to elect a new pope will begin.
The cardinals will vote once today and the first smoke signal will be emitted from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at around 7:00 p.m. local time.
The smoke is expected to be black, which would mean that no pope has been elected.
If the smoke is white, it would mean that the 267th successor to Saint Peter and the new leader of the Catholic Church has been elected.