Catholic cardinals听from around the world will sequester themselves within the Sistine Chapel beginning Wednesday to start the secretive process of selecting Pope Francis鈥檚 successor.
Watch live as cardinals choose the new pope. Candidates need a two-thirds majority, or 89 votes. If no one secures that Wednesday, the cardinals will retire for the day and return on Thursday. They will have two ballots in the morning and then two in the afternoon, until a winner is found.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
What name the new pope chooses can signal what鈥檚 ahead
This photo taken and handout on May 7, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows cardinals during a holy mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff, prior to the start of the conclave, at St Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican.听
HANDOUT VATICAN MEDIA/AFP via GettyThe first clue of the next pope鈥檚 direction will be the name the winner chooses.
The announcement 鈥淗abemus Papam鈥 鈥 鈥淲e have a pope鈥 鈥 from the balcony of St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica is followed first by the revelation of the new pontiff鈥檚 baptismal name, in Latin, followed by his papal name, wrought with meaning.
Preparations for the conclave to find a new pope accelerated Friday with the installation of the chimney out of the Sistine Chapel that will signal the election of a successor to Pope Francis. (AP video/Srdjan Nedeljkovic / May 2, 2025)
A Pope Francis II would signify continuity with the late pontiff鈥檚 pastoral legacy and his prioritizing of the marginalized. Francis himself quipped that his successor would be John XXIV, after the progressive Vatican II-era pope. The most popular papal name of the 20th century, Pius, would be a clear signal that a traditionalist is taking back the throne of St. Peter.
Analysis: Meet the survivors who are praying the next pope will have zero tolerance for sex abuse
On the morning that Pope Francis鈥檚 passing was announced to the world, Irene Desch锚nes received a text message from a fellow survivor of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
鈥淪he said, 鈥楾he pope died. Take care of yourself,鈥欌 Desch锚nes, the president of Outrage Canada, an advocacy group for survivors of church abuse, recounted in a telephone interview from her home near London, Ont.
鈥淭his is probably a trigger for a lot of survivors, but there are triggers every day.鈥
Advocates for sexual-abuse survivors see the conclave as both a risk and a window of opportunity to push for change within the church.
Since Pope Francis鈥檚 death, viewership of 鈥楥onclave鈥 has surged. But how accurate is it?
Ralph Fiennes (centre) plays a Vatican cardinal caught up in papal intrigue in Edward Berger’s “Conclave,” a thriller screening at the 2024 海角社区官网International Film Festival.听
Focus FeaturesThe Oscar-winning Vatican thriller 鈥淐onclave鈥 became a box-office smash when it was released last October, but in the wake of Pope Francis鈥檚 death its audience has expanded even further.
The film, which depicts the process of choosing a new pope after one has died, received a big bump in streaming numbers after the 88-year-old pope died on April 21 following complications from a stroke.
With so many people learning about the process by watching the fictional 鈥淐onclave,鈥 how accurate is it? Experts say the film gets some things right and other things wrong.
鈥淭hey tried to reproduce the mise en scene of the Vatican accurately,鈥 Bill Cavanaugh, professor of Catholic Studies at Chicago鈥檚 DePaul University, wrote in an email to the Star. But, he added, the film depicts a lot of political conversations between cardinals, which is 鈥渆xaggerated ... for dramatic effect.鈥
Mass ahead of the start of the conclave is over
This photo taken and handout on May 7, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows cardinals during a holy mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff, prior to the start of the conclave, at St Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican.
HANDOUT VATICAN MEDIA/AFP via GeA morning Mass in St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica has concluded, allowing the cardinals who will elect the next pope to return to their residences for a few hours ahead of the conclave.
Later in the afternoon, the Vatican has said that all communications around the Holy See will be jammed as they prepare to withdraw from the outside world for their secret and sacred task ahead.
The cardinals are likely to cast their first vote later on Wednesday. Assuming no one is elected, black smoke would be expected out of the Sistine Chapel chimney at around 7 p.m. local time.
Rome on high alert ahead of the conclave
People gather in St. Peter’s Square as the Mass for the Election of the New Pope is shown on screens before the start of the conclave on May 07, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican.听
Mario Tama Getty ImagesThe Vatican鈥檚 Swiss Guards and Italian carabinieri and police have been mobilized as Rome and the wider world hold their breath to see who will emerge from the conclave as the next pontiff.
As of Wednesday morning, when cardinals attended a special pre-conclave Mass in St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica, police were carrying out enhanced checks of people entering St. Peter鈥檚 Square.
Over 4,000 officers have been deployed, with an anti-drone system and signal jammers to block communication between the cardinals and the outside world once they enter into their secret assembly.
鈥淭he safety of the cardinals is a priority, but so is that of the faithful outside,鈥 said Fabio Ciciliano, head Italy鈥檚 Civil Protection agency.
Catholic cardinals to sequester in the Vatican for the start of the conclave
A morning Mass in St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica has concluded, allowing the cardinals who will elect the next pope to return to their residences for a few hours ahead of the conclave.
Later in the afternoon, the Vatican has said that all communications around the Holy See will be jammed as they prepare to withdraw from the outside world for their secret and sacred task ahead.
A brief and colourful papal history just days from a conclave to elect a new bishop of Rome
Cardinals Ruben Salazar Gomez, left is flanked by Cardinal Luis Jos茅 Rueda Aparicio as they arrive in the New Hall of the Synod at the Vatican, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, the last time before the start of the conclave starting in the afternoon of Wenesday, May 7, when they will elect the successor of Pope Francis.听
Gregorio Borgia APOn an ordinary day at the Vatican, it鈥檚 common to hear the brrring of a telefonino and priests digging their devices out from the folds of their cassocks.
These are extraordinary days, though. Cardinals 鈥 arriving together by bus from Casa Santa Marta, a modest guesthouse on the grounds (Pope Francis chose to live there during his papacy rather than the ornate Apostolic Palace) 鈥 will be stripped of their cellphones before entering the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday to begin the arcane ritualistic process of electing a 267th pope.
No communication devices. No contact with the outside world. Complete isolation in their sequestered assembly, under Michelangelo鈥檚 majestic fresco of the Last Judgment. Cum clave 鈥 under lock and key. A total digital blackout in this era.
But in the 21st century, the challenge of maintaining secrecy amidst unprecedented technology and providing security for the participants is immense.
The conclave to choose the next pope will be the most geographically diverse in history
Faithful kneel during a final Mass celebrated by cardinals inside St. Peter’s Basilica, before the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Gregorio Borgia APThere is no rule that cardinals electing a new pope vote a certain way according to their nationality or region. But understanding their makeup in geographic terms can help explain some of their priorities as they open the conclave Wednesday to choose a new leader of the 1.4-billion strong Catholic Church.
Vatican workers have installed the simple stove in the Sistine Chapel where ballots will be burned during the upcoming conclave to elect a new pope. The Holy See released footage Saturday of the preparations for the May 7 conclave, which include installing the stove and a false floor in the frescoed Sistine Chapel to make it even. (AP Video / May 3, 2025)
A cardinal who heads the Vatican鈥檚 liturgy office might have a very different set of concerns from the archbishop of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. A cardinal who runs a large European archdiocese with hundreds of priests likely has other priorities than the Vatican ambassador ministering to war-torn Syria or the archbishop of Managua, Nicaragua, whose church has been under siege by the government.
There are currently 135 cardinals who are under age 80 and eligible to vote in the conclave, hailing from 71 different countries in the most geographically diverse conclave in history. Already two have formally told the Holy See that they cannot attend for health reasons, bringing the number of men who will enter the Sistine Chapel down to 133.
How is the next pope chosen?
This photo handout on May 6, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows 133 balls with numbers corresponding to each cardinal elector in the Sistine Chapel, on the eve of the conclave at the Vatican.听
HANDOUT VATICAN MEDIA/AFP via Getty ImagesOnly cardinals under 80 are allowed to vote. That means 135 of the total 252 cardinals will be eligible, although two have confirmed their absence for health reasons. Church regulations allow a maximum 120 electors, although popes have exceeded that ceiling before.
The cardinal electors must reach a two-thirds majority to elect a new pope. On the first day of the ballot, cardinals will take a single vote.
The Catholic Church's cardinals are meeting next week at the Vatican to elect the new pope in a centuries-old process called conclave. Recent conclaves took a few days, but the longest-ever in history was nearly three years long. (AP Video/Isaia Montelione / May 2, 2025)
If no winner is chosen, the electors will return to the Sistine Chapel the following morning. In the following days, there can be up to two votes each morning and two each afternoon until a pope is chosen.
What is a conclave?
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, center, takes part in the procession carrying the body of Pope Francis to St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, where he will lie in state for three days.听
Alessandra Tarantino APThe conclave is a centuries-old tradition that will see more than 100 cardinals from around the globe congregate in Vatican City to select the next bishop of Rome and leader of the world鈥檚 more-than 1.4 billion Catholics.
It must take place 15 days to a maximum 20 days after the pope vacates his position, according to an apostolic constitution.
The first day will start with a special mass at St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. In the afternoon, the cardinal electors will process into the Sistine Chapel, where the voting will take place.
There, a priest will deliver a meditation and the cardinals will take an oath. The master of liturgical ceremonies will then utter the Latin words 鈥淓xtra Omnes鈥 鈥 meaning 鈥渁ll out鈥 鈥 asking all those present save for the voting cardinals to leave the building.
From then on, the cardinals will have no contact with the outside world until the next pope is chosen 鈥 meaning no cellphones, newspapers, TVs, messages, letters or signals.
