A pre-conclave Mass is underway inside St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican, ahead of the first vote in the election of the next Pope.
The televised service is being presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the 91-year-old Dean of the College of Cardinals, who also officiated Pope Francis’ funeral.
Around 130 red-robed cardinals from around the world are attending the Mass before the start of the papal conclave—a centuries-old tradition through which a new head of the Catholic Church is chosen.
The Vatican has announced that this year’s conclave will be the largest in history, with 133 cardinal electors eligible to participate. Of these, 108 are “novices” who have never before taken part in the election of a new pontiff.
According to Italian state media, mobile signals within Vatican territory will be deactivated early in the afternoon to prevent any participant in the conclave from contacting the outside world.
The Vatican will also deploy signal jammers around the Sistine Chapel to block electronic surveillance or communication, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Phone signals will be cut off at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday—an hour and a half before the cardinals are scheduled to proceed to the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave, according to Italian state broadcaster RAI.
At approximately 4:15 p.m., the 133 cardinal electors will gather in the Pauline Chapel and form a solemn procession to the Sistine Chapel.
During the procession, they will sing a litany and the hymn Veni Creator—an invocation to the Holy Spirit, traditionally seen as the divine guide in the selection of a new pope.
Once inside the Sistine Chapel, with one hand resting on a copy of the Gospels, each cardinal will take an oath of secrecy, swearing never to reveal any details about the conclave.
According to the Vatican Media, after the final oath is taken, a period of meditation will follow. Then, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, Diego Ravelli, will proclaim “Extra omnes”—Latin for “everyone out.”
This phrase signals the beginning of the cardinals’ isolation and the formal start of the conclave.