NEWS- A total of 133 Cardinals from around the world have today afternoon filed into the Sistine Chapel to the choruses of a choir backed by organ music and the doors were sealed behind them.
The Papal conclave which is a centuries-old tradition to elect a new head of the Catholic Church has now begun.
The Cardinal-electors are those cardinals under 80 years and will be barred from leaving the Chapel where they will remain until they elect a new Pope and will not have any contact with the outside world.
The Vatican administration said that access to telecommunications signal for those involved went dark at 9 am and the electors will now vote until they select the next leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
The new Pope will be announced with white smoke billowing from the Apostolic Palace and soon after, the new Pope will emerge onto the balcony to greet thousands of his flock who are waiting outside.
The Cardinal electors face a stark choice to select a Pope who will follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis, an Argentine reformer who advocated for migrants and the environment, or one who will guide the Catholic Church down a more traditional path.
Conclave security is being provided by the Army, Police and a group of volunteer “knights” who trace their roots to a powerful but mysterious religious order founded in the 12th century.
Knights templars today, one of the countless modern-day self-appointed heirs of this order, is helping to provide security for the Vatican’s Jubilee, a quad-centennial celebration that happens to have coincided with the Conclave.
Additional Reporting from the Vativan News
