Live Conclave latest: Cardinals to vote for new pope
The 133 electors convened in St Peter's Basilica for a final mass before entering the Sistine Chapel for the first secret ballot this afternoon.
When they enter the conclave, Cardinals will be locked inside and cut off from all communications with the outside world.
They will surrender their cellphones, and airwaves around the Vatican will be jammed to prevent them from all communications until they find the 267th leader of the 1.4 billion-member church.
The ballots are burned after voting, with black smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel indicating no one has been elected, but white smoke confirming a new pope has been chosen. The outcome of the vote is expected to be announced at about 6pm.
A two-thirds majority is required for someone to be elected.
This conclave is thought to be one of the most diverse of any meeting of cardinals before, representing some 70 countries and hailing from places like Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga, which had not had a cardinal before.
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