The process to elect a new pope began this morning in Vatican City, where 133 cardinal-electors from 70 countries gathered inside St. Peter’s Basilica for Pro eligendo Romano Pontifice, Mass for the election of the Pontiff. ALSO READ: Vatican to cut mobile signals ahead of Wednesday’s conclave The Mass that opened the spiritual phase of the conclave was led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the Dean of the College of Cardinals who delivered a sermon that offered guidance for the decision ahead. Cardinal Re urged the cardinals to seek unity, humility, and divine wisdom as they prepare to choose a new spiritual leader for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. “We are here to invoke the help of the Holy Spirit, to implore his light and strength so that the pope elected may be he whom the Church and humanity need,” he said. ALSO READ: Election of new Pope due Wednesday, but why do pontiffs adopt new names? He added that love is the only force capable of changing the world. Re noted that the role of the next pope is not simply one of succession but a symbolic continuation of St. Peter’s mission. He called on the electors to look beyond personal or national interests and to choose a man capable of awakening moral and spiritual conscience in an era he described as marked by rapid technological change and growing secularism. “Communion in diversity” must guide their choice, he said, not rigid uniformity. He warned that the Church needs a leader who can rekindle faith in societies that “occasionally forget God.” After the Mass, the cardinals returned to the Domus Sanctae Marthae (Santa Marta residence), where they will live in strict isolation until a new pope is elected. At 3 p.m. local time, all communication devices will be surrendered, and Vatican security will activate electronic jamming systems to enforce the traditional conclave seclusion. At 4:15 p.m., the cardinal-electors will proceed into the Sistine Chapel, chanting the Veni Creator Spiritus—a hymn invoking the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They will be surrounded by Michelangelo’s iconic Last Judgment fresco, the cardinals will take their places around the chapel’s perimeter, and prepare to cast their first ballots. Because of the late start, only one round of voting is expected today. The result will be announced in the evening by the traditional smoke signal from the chapel chimney, black smoke for no decision, white smoke if a new pope has been chosen. The signal is expected around 7 p.m. Rome time. If no decision is reached today, voting will resume tomorrow with four daily rounds, two in the morning and two in the evening, until a candidate secures the required two-thirds majority.
