All eyes on Vatican City for smoke as cardinals begin work to choose new pope
The 133 electors, dressed in distinctive bright red vestments trimmed with gold thread, heard at a special mass on Wednesday of the 'weighty decision' they must make.
Smoke indicating whether or not the 267th pope has been chosen could come from the specially-erected chimney of the Sistine Chapel as early as Wednesday evening.
If black smoke rises into the air over St Peter's Square, it will confirm no-one achieved the required two-thirds majority, and voting will resume on Thursday.
Up to four votes a day can take place from then, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, with white smoke confirming a new pope has been chosen.
There are three UK cardinals taking part in conclave – Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe and Rome-based Cardinal Arthur Roche.
Cardinal Nichols had called on people to pray for himself and other cardinals as they embark on the secret voting process, adding that he feels 'quite intimidated' knowing the world is watching to see who they choose.
The voting cardinals – those aged under 80 who are the only ones eligible to cast a ballot – were urged to 'invoke the help of the Holy Spirit' to help them elect a pope 'whom the Church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history'.
Addressing them in St Peter's Basilica, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said: 'To pray, by invoking the Holy Spirit, is the only right and proper attitude to take as the cardinal electors prepare to undertake an act of the highest human and ecclesial responsibility and to make a choice of exceptional importance.
'This is a human act for which every personal consideration must be set aside, keeping in mind and heart only the God of Jesus Christ and the good of the Church and of humanity.'
The pontiff – believed to be someone called to be the successor to St Peter, who was the first pope – will need to be a person who can 'awaken the consciences of all and the moral and spiritual energies in today's society, characterised by great technological progress but which tends to forget God', Cardinal Battista Re added.
Following a centuries-old tradition, cardinals are cut off from all communications with the outside world while they take part in the anonymous voting process.
Cardinal Battista Re said the late Pope John Paul II had once expressed the hope that 'during the hours of voting on this weighty decision, Michelangelo's looming image of Jesus the Judge would remind everyone of the greatness of the responsibility of placing the 'supreme keys' (Dante) in the correct hands'.
This was a reference to Michelangelo's intricate painting of the 'The Last Judgment' in the chapel, which cardinals will stand below as they take an oath pledging secrecy in their vote and about what happens in conclave.
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.
Pope Francis had appointed some 108 of the 133 cardinals who will choose his successor.
The next pope must be someone who can bring togetherdisparate groups within the Catholic Church, an emeritus professor of Catholic theology at the University of Bristol said.
Prof Gavin D'Costa said: 'Although politics and power exist within the conclave, like any large institution and as shown in the recent film Conclave, the primacy of prayer by the cardinals – and their chief concern for the common good of the Church – should be kept clear.
'This conclave is more universal in representative terms than any other in the history of the Church, even if it is also lacking in balance – having more European cardinals than any other single group, but with a dwindling Catholic population in Europe.
'The priority will be to select a Pope who embodies the common good, who can unite disparate groups within Catholics, and provide a vision of the Church that can be conducive to peace, cooperation and justice in a broken world.'
Francis was outspoken on politics, speaking out against war and climate change, as he urged more focus on the poor and downtrodden of the world.
His funeral last month drew hundreds of thousands of mourners, including world leaders such as US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Such was Francis's popularity, he was dubbed by many to have been 'the people's pope'.
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