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VATICAN CITY (AP) — Exit tourists. Enter cardinals.
The Vatican has closed the Sistine Chapel, wherever cardinals volition stitchery for the conclave to elite the adjacent pope aft the decease of Pope Francis connected April 21 astatine property 88.
Francis was buried Saturday aft a ceremonial successful St. Peter's Square that gathered satellite leaders and hundreds of thousands of others, and a nine-day play of mourning is continuing earlier the conclave tin start.
But the religion is astatine the aforesaid clip turning its attraction to the adjacent steps.
Key is preparing the Sistine Chapel for the red-robed cardinals who volition stitchery astatine the Vatican successful the bosom of Rome to take the adjacent pope successful an past process fictionalized successful the 2024 movie “Conclave.”
One cardinal task: installing the chimney wherever ballots volition beryllium burned aft votes.
Those visitors who managed to participate connected Sunday considered themselves lucky, since determination is nary telling however agelong the conclave volition last, and however agelong the gem of the Vatican Museums volition stay off-limits.
“I deliberation we felt precise fortunate to beryllium capable to beryllium the past radical of visitors to travel successful today," said Sumon Khan, a tourer from the United States. “You know, our travel would not person been implicit without seeing this beauteous place.”
According to a docket determined by religion law, the conclave tin lone statesman aft the nine-day mourning period. It is expected to commencement betwixt May 5 and May 10.
When it does, the cardinals volition participate solemnly to enactment successful a secretive process said to beryllium guided by the beatified tone that volition effect successful the enactment of the adjacent person of the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic church. The prime volition find whether the adjacent pontiff volition proceed Francis' reforms, with his absorption connected the mediocre and marginalized and the environment, oregon whether they volition take a pontiff person successful benignant to blimpish predecessors similar Benedict XVI focused connected doctrine.
For inspiration, the cardinals volition besides person the large quality of the frescoes painted by Michelangelo and different renowned Renaissance artists. The astir recognizable is Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, showing God's outstretched manus imparting the divine spark of beingness to the archetypal man.
The chapel is named aft Pope Sixtus IV, an creation patron who oversaw the operation of the main papal chapel successful the 15th century. But it was a aboriginal pontiff, Pope Julius II, who commissioned the works by Michelangelo, who painted the ceiling depicting scenes from Genesis from 1508 and 1512 and aboriginal returned to overgarment the Last Judgement connected 1 of the walls.
When the conclave opens, cardinals volition chant the Litany of Saints, the solemn, mystical Gregorian chant imploring the intercession of the saints, arsenic they record into the chapel and instrumentality an oath of secrecy. The chapel's heavy treble doors volition adjacent and the maestro of liturgy volition utter the Latin words “Extra omnes,” meaning “everyone out.”
The secretive process is portion of a contented aimed astatine preserving the ballot from outer interference.
The satellite volition past hold for a motion that a successor to Francis has been chosen. Black fume coming from the chimney successful the Sistine Chapel volition bespeak that they haven't achieved the two-thirds bulk for a caller pope.
But erstwhile a pope is yet chosen, achromatic fume volition emergence and bells volition toll.
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Associated Press video newsman Pietro De Cristofaro contributed from Rome.
