No fewer than 133 cardinals have entered the Sistine Chapel and begun the solemn, secretive process of electing a new pope.
The cardinals, all under the age of 80, have now taken the oath of secrecy and are locked away, completely cut off from the outside world until a new pontiff is chosen.
Three cardinals who were eligible to vote have withdrawn.
Two have cited ill health, while a third, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, aged 76, has also stepped back.
Becciu was convicted of financial crimes by a Vatican court in 2023, a ruling he continues to appeal, according to Vatican News.
Before the doors were closed, the cardinals swore an oath promising “absolute and perpetual secrecy” concerning all aspects of the conclave.
Each promised to support whoever ultimately elected in faithfully carrying out the sacred duties of the papacy.
The cardinals will cast just one vote this afternoon. From tomorrow, they are expected to vote up to four times a day—twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon—until one candidate receives a two-thirds majority.
Each cardinal writes the name of their chosen candidate on a card bearing the Latin words “Eligo in Summum Pontificem” (“I elect as Supreme Pontiff”), before proceeding in order of seniority to place it into a silver and gilded urn.
Shortly after today’s vote, smoke will rise from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel. Black smoke will indicate that no pope has been elected and voting will resume tomorrow. If white smoke appears, the Church will have a new leader.
