133 Cardinals gather for conclave to elect Pope Francis’s successor

After mourning Pope Francis, more than 130 cardinals have gathered to take part in the secretive conclave election to pick a new pope.

On Wednesday, May 7, the 133 voting cardinals began the day in St. Peter’s Basilica at 10:00 a.m. local time with a pre-conclave votive mass, during which they prayed for guidance in regards to electing a new pope.

The voting won’t actually begin until the afternoon at which point the cardinals will be sequestered in the Sistine Chapel until they reach a two-thirds majority.

Although the conclave itself takes place behind closed doors, after each vote, smoke is sent up a chimney in the Sistine Chapel, which gives the public an update on the proceedings.

If the smoke is black, that means the cardinals are still deliberating, but if it’s white, that means a new pope has been chosen.

Which Region of the World Provides the Most Cardinals?

The 133 cardinals who will elect the new pope have travelled from all over the world to take part in the historic events inside the Vatican.

This includes 20 cardinals from North America, including Timothy Dolan of New York, Blase Cupich of Chicago, Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, and Robert McElroy of Washington.

Europe provides the most cardinals, with 52 actively taking part, followed by Asia with 23, reported Sky News.

Africa and South America both have 17, while Oceana provides 4.

The events will also take part amid huge security, with more than 4,000 police officers deployed in Rome since 8 p.m. local time on Tuesday, May 6, according to reports.

The 133 voting cardinals began the day in St. Peter’s Basilica at 10:00 a.m. local time for a special pre-conclave mass. During the mass, the cardinals pray for guidance in regards to electing a new pope.

The mass is presided over by dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who also presided over Pope Francis’ funeral.

The voting will begin later today after the cardinals have entered the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.

According to the BBC, at around 5:30 p.m. local time, everyone but the cardinals must leave the Sistine Chapel, marking the start of the conclave.

Are There Any Frontrunners?

Although plenty of names have floated around, including Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines, Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, experts have repeatedly told PEOPLE that anything can happen. 

“One of the things that makes this particular conclave so hard to handicap, I think, is that Pope Francis has named 80% of the voting cardinals, and they are from all over the world,” said Dr. Bill Cavanaugh, a professor of Catholic studies at DePaul University. “He’s picked them from obscure locations like Mongolia and South Sudan and the Central African Republic.”

“They don’t know each other. Most of them have not worked in Rome together,” he continued. “It makes it really hard to say who’s going to come out on top.”

He later added, “Anybody is going to be unexpected at this point, in some ways.”

How Has the Vatican Prepared?

Ahead of the start of the conclave, the Vatican announced that it will deactivate cell service and utilize signal jammers in order to protect from external interference, according to Italian outlet ANSA and state media broadcaster RAI.

Phone signals will drop shortly before the conclave officially begins at 4:30 p.m. local time, reported The Guardian although Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said that service blackout won’t extend to St. Peter’s Square, where thousands typically gather to watch and wait for the smoke rise from the Sistine Chapel.

Cell service will resume after the next pope has been chosen and announced to the public.

How to Watch

Although the Vatican does not stream the conclave itself (the proceedings are private), a number of news organizations will be running their own daily coverage, including USA Today, ABC News and Fox News. CBS will also air special reports whenever smoke is seen coming from the Sistine Chapel.

Additionally, Vatican News has an ongoing livestream of St. Peter’s Squar

What Is a Conclave and How Does It Work?

The term “conclave” translates roughly to “under lock and key”  and the assembly recently surged in the public consciousness thanks to the 2024 Best Picture nominee of the same name.

The secrete deliberations typically begin around 15 to 20 days after the death of a sitting pope and after the College of Cardinals has convened in Rome, according to Kathleen Sprows Cummings, a nationally recognized Pope Francis expert.

Beforehand, general congregations in which all of the cardinals not just those who are voting (only Cardinals under the age of 80 can vote) gather to “speak about what the church needs in the new Pope,” according to Cummings.

The first ballot usually takes place that first night and typically “many different” potential popes will get votes, she said and then the process continues until the cardinals reach a two-thirds majority.

After each vote, the ballots are burned and smoke is sent up through a chimney that is temporarily installed in the Sistine Chapel. If the smoke is black, it means a new pope has not been elected.

White smoke, by contrast means that a new pope has been chosen and is followed by the official announcement, or “Habemus papam”, a Latin phrase that directly translates to: “We have a pope.”