Black smoke billows as cardinals’ first conclave vote yields no new pope: Highlights

When the black smoke finally came after more than three hours, for some the mood had sailed way past excitement through anticipation, and it was hovering dangerously close to distraction.

It was soles rather than souls that needed prayer, and standing with limited supplies of food and water became too much for a few of the observers. At one point, a golf cart drove through the throng and collected someone in need of medical attention. Others appeared to leave the square altogether. People kept busy by cheering the occasional seagull that landed next to the chimney or by clapping, perhaps in the hope that those hermetically sealed inside the Sistine Chapel might hear their encouragement.

The long-awaited moment diced with anticlimax. Past 9 p.m. local time, it was too dark to see the chimney against the sky, so most people had their eyes and phones trained on the big screens showing the action. But seconds before the smoke finally arrived, the screens cut out, meaning it was difficult to actually see the moment itself.

For the faithful gathered here, of course, the sideshow drama was not the point.

Valentina Kamenova is a 25-year-old actress from Los Angeles who has been living in Rome for three years. She had been in the square for hours, but there was no sign of disappointment on her face as the first night ended with no new pope.

“It was a historic and surreal moment. When the door of the Sistine Chapel closed, I felt the power of that instant. It almost felt like a movie," she said. "Actually, it felt just like the film 'Conclave' by Edward Berger. Again, surreal.”

Meanwhile, the square is emptying quickly.

Shirley, 16, from the Netherlands, was in St. Peter’s Square with her class on a school trip. “I would have preferred the smoke to be white, because we waited so long,” she said. “But I’m not disappointed. It was nice to see so many people all hoping for the same thing together.”

Black smoke emanated from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, indicating no new pope was elected during the first round of voting today.

About 30,000 people have gathered in St. Peter’s Square, according to Vatican News.

We are nearing the three-hour mark since the College of Cardinals ordered “everybody out” and started the conclave proper, a glacially slow, ancient rite of voting and counting.

It’s now 8:30 p.m., and if the smoke doesn’t come soon, it might be hard to make out against the quickly dimming Roman sky.

A thousand law enforcement men are now in and around St. Peter's Square, an official from the Vatican's Ministry of Home Affairs told NBC News. This number will continue to grow until white smoke comes out of the Sistine Chapel chimney.

The number of officers is expected to increase based on the number of people arriving to witness the event, officials said, adding that checkpoints have been set up around the area, with military anti-drone units placed on the side of the square. Usually presenting themselves as a couple of soldiers with big bazookas, the units are able to detect and destroy any drone in sight.

While the cardinal electors are kept in full isolation by jammers inside the Vatican that block mobile telephone frequencies, police said they would operate on police radio frequencies and channels.

It’s remarkably quiet, given the tens of thousands of people here. In more avian-related frivolity, a seagull just landed on the roof behind the chimney, prompting gasps and cheers from the crowd. Many people have their phones pointed at the smokestack, already recording, eager to capture a moment in history.

Some people even bring Aperol spritzes to the square, as if they were about to watch a show during aperitivo hour.

Gabriela, 44, Milagro, 29, and Maria Luz, 42, said they just needed something refreshing to drink after a hot Roman afternoon and a long tour of the Vatican museums. Still, their spritzes attract attention in St. Peter’s Square: "We hope we’re not offending anyone."

The Argentines, who are colleagues at a digital consulting firm, are enjoying their first vacation together.

They found themselves in St. Peter’s Square full of curiosity and emotion. Being here is about witnessing something extraordinary, something that might even call for a toast if there’s white smoke.

“I’m not a believer,” Maria Luz said, “but I think the election of a pope is always an important moment for humanity.”

Some people are getting jumpy watching the Sistine Chapel’s chimney.

“Oh look!” shouts one excited onlooker spying movement atop the roof. “No, that was just a bird.”

Four American students of architecture and art history await the first smoke signal in St. Peter’s Square.

Katherine, Delenie, Claire, all 21, and Eva, 20, are from Chicago, Boston and Seattle, and they have been in Rome for five months. They are set to return home Saturday.

They are in St. Peter’s Square waiting for the first smoke signal. They do not necessarily hope for an American pope.

“What matters is that he’s a people’s pope and doesn’t take the church backward,” Katherine said. They would all like to see a progressive pope, in continuity with Francis.

“I really like Cardinal Tagle,” Katherine added, referring to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines.

The sun has gone down behind the basilica's dome, and the mood in the square has calmed, mirroring the solemn proceedings inside.

The selfie sticks and gelato tubs of the day have given way to a more reflective scene. Near the barrier at the front, a group of Mexican nuns strike up a soft rendition of Salve Regina.

"Earlier today, it was so loud and crowded,” said Niwa Limbu, an 18-year-old student from London, who joined in this quiet chorus. “But you can see now how the mood has changed.”

Conclave security is being provided by the army, police and a group of volunteer “knights” who trace their roots to a powerful but mysterious religious order founded in the 12th century.

The Knights Templar were a formidable force until the 1300s, established during the Crusades to protect pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land.

Templars Today, one of the countless modern-day self-appointed heirs of this order, is helping to provide security for the Vatican’s Jubilee, a quad-centennial celebration that happens to have coincided with the conclave.

“We’re tough, but that doesn’t mean fighting; it means helping people,” said Brother John Michael, 60, a reformed biker gang member who is now the “equis commander” of the Templar division covering the English Midlands. “We want to defend Christian values, but all that means is if you see someone who falls down in the street, you help them.”

Lucy and Pepito, both 66, are husband and wife who watched the entire oath ceremony of the cardinals, right up to the “Extra omnes.” She’s a nurse, he’s a gastroenterology technician. Originally from the Philippines, they now live in the United Kingdom. This is their first time in Rome — and in the Vatican.

They booked the trip long ago, not knowing it would coincide with such a significant moment for the Catholic Church to which they belong.

“I’m still trembling — it was a moment of overwhelming, mixed emotions,” says Lucy. “When I saw the door close, I thought: now it’s all in God’s hands. It was deeply moving, indescribable. I don’t have the words for it.”

Pepito adds: “It’s exciting to think that there are candidates from the Philippines in this conclave. We can’t wait to see what will happen. All will be God’s will, as my wife said.”

Asked whether they’ll stay in the square until the expected smoke at 7 p.m (1 p.m. ET) they respond with enthusiasm: “Absolutely.”

On the steps of the portico of St. Peter’s Square, Grant Baccala has been sitting cross-legged since the morning, barefoot, dressed in a white robe and with a large wooden cross hanging from his neck.

The 55-year-old is a Protestant friar from Maryland, who entered the seminary at the age of 23 after receiving what he describes as "a call from God" during a bicycle road trip.

“After the pope died, I felt the Holy Spirit calling me, telling me to come here to Rome,” Baccala said, adding: “The same day I decided to leave, I received a government tax refund. It felt like a sign — I had to come to Rome!”

Baccala said he last came to Rome about 10 years ago as a tourist, but this journey is very different for him. “I decided to live these weeks here as a true pilgrim. When I arrived in Italy, I gave away all the money I had,” he said, adding, “In my backpack I only have some books, the Bible, and a bit of bread.”

He spends his days in St. Peter’s Square and at night, he sleeps under a nearby bridge, together with the homeless.

With the last oath given, the master of ceremonies has chanted “Extra omnes” (“Everyone out!”), at which point everyone except the cardinal electors and a few others were compelled to leave.

Now, a second discourse “on the election of the pope” will be given by the second churchman chosen in the General Congregation and voting begins, at which point, any remaining nonelectors also leave.

From this point on, the cardinals cannot communicate with the outside world. They will have no access to radio, television, newspapers, telephones, faxes, internet or social media.

The world will now await the first smoke from the Sistine Chapel’s temporary chimney, expected in no fewer than two hours.

Please empty your pockets and put any jackets, belts and loose change in the trays provided.

It’s millennia-old religious rite meets modern airport-style security here as St. Peter’s Square really starts to fill up.

Scanners sit between some of the 284 colonnades built in the 1600s, a necessary but time consuming hold up for those waiting to get into the square.

“We don’t mind at all; we would prefer to feel safe,” said Caroline Roussin, 52, a teacher from Provance, France, waiting in the 20-minute line. She was with Geoffrey Reynaud, 47. “I am Catholic and it was one of my dreams to come to the conclave,” he said. “So it was well worth it.”

Cardinals will be beginning the conclave with the discussions from yesterday's final general congregation ringing in their ears.

There, cardinals appealed for peace around the world, echoing the late Pope Francis’ plea in his Urbi et Orbi message the day before his death.

“There has been no progress in advancing the peace processes in Ukraine, the Middle East and so many other parts of the world,” they said in a statement, adding, “on the contrary, attacks have intensified, especially against the civilian population.”

In “a heartfelt appeal to all parties involved,” they said they hoped for a permanent ceasefire and for the “the peace long desired by the peoples involved and by the entire world.”

In the warm spring weather, it's easy to ask whether Pope Francis' pronouncements on protecting the environment have led some of those waiting for news of his replacement to consider their drinking vessel of choice.

Unmoved by the crowds, the chanting and the selfies, one woman stands stock still holding a sign: “Hope for Peace.”

This is Ukrainian artist Yona Tukuser, 39, who said she has stood here 12 hours a day, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., since April 25 — four days after Pope Francis died.

“I’m not moving — I’m like a stone,” she told NBC News just off St. Peter’s Square, as the cardinals were starting their hymnal conclave procession on big screens nearby. She wrote her sign in lipstick — representing “the voice of the world” — the day the pope died.

She is untroubled by Francis’ 2024 comments, much criticized by Kyiv’s backers, that Ukraine “should have the courage of the white flag.” She called him “the strongest world voice for peace, but the other leaders told him to shut up.”

Back outside in St. Peter's Square, Immacolata, 75, arrived in Rome from Naples today to visit the tomb of Pope Francis at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. From there, she made her way to St. Peter’s Square well ahead of time, hoping to witness the first smoke signal from the conclave, expected at 7 p.m. local time (1 p.m. ET).

Rome is more than just a destination for her — it’s a homecoming. She lived in the city for many years and is a proud member of the Honor Guard of the Holy See, a former Vatican military corps disbanded in the 1970s, now revived as a prestigious volunteer group.

But today brought a small disappointment: she’s just learned that she won’t be able to stay for the smoke. Her return train departs too early. Still, she hasn’t lost her smile. “I’ll remain in St. Peter’s Square a little longer,” she says, “just to feel part of this great moment for the church.”

She doesn’t want to speculate on who the next pope might be. Her friend Cristina, standing beside her, answers instead: “The Holy Spirit will choose.”

After gathering in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, the cardinal electors have processed through the Sala Regia into the cavernous Sistine Chapel, all to the mordant strains of a choir backed by church organs.

At the last conclave in 2013, the order of the procession began with the cross, choir, prelates and the secretary of the conclave, before the cardinals entered two by two in the reverse order of their hierarchical precedence (deacons, priests, then bishops). At the end was the dean of the College of Cardinals and the master of ceremonies. Things looked similar this time around.

In the Sistine Chapel, the cardinal electors have found the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, the Book of Rites of the Conclave Ordo Rituum Conclavis, and a book of the Liturgy of the Hours.

With the cardinals filing in two at a time, the dean of the college gave a lengthy oath including a vow to protect the church’s freedom and the secrecy of the conclave, and to avoid any secular politics in their votes.

With cardinals about to walk into the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave, they will need to observe the rules for electing a new pope.

That includes entering in order of precedence from the most senior cardinal bishop, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to the most recently created deacon, Cardinal George Koovakad. A few moments ago, Parolin led the cardinals in an introductory prayer as they silently rose from their seats in front of the golden altar outside the frescoed chapel.

The cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel in reverse order of their hierarchical precedence, with deacons entering first, followed by priests and then bishops. Parolin will enter last.

The order of the oath-taking will begin with Parolin, who will read aloud the oath that is pledged by each of the cardinal electors in turn. He will be followed by Cardinal Filoni Fernando, Cardinal Tagle Luis Antonio and Cardinal Robert Francis before the rest of the 133 cardinal electors.

At a loose end waiting for white smoke on the Via della Conciliazione? Why not grab some papal trinkets.

A nodding head figure of the late Pope Francis; a Vatican beer bottle opener; or a refrigerator magnet depicting the Sistine Chapel fresco showing the Creation of Adam: It’s all here on the wide street leading to St. Peter’s Basilica, both sold in regular stores and pop-up stalls whose evasive owners unanimously decline an interview.

All the recent popes are on display — alongside knickknacks reading “I <3 ROMA” and others depicting the close-up male form in classical style.

Once the new pope is elected, it will take manufacturers just one week to start knocking out fresh bric-a-brac bearing his face, reckons Mario Deceglie, 76, who works at one of the permanent souvenir shops.

“There isn’t one particular favorite item,” he said with a prosaic shrug. “They all sell pretty well.”

The Women’s Ordination Conference, which promotes female priesthood, told Reuters on Monday that it plans to release pink smoke from a hill near the Vatican hours before the conclave starts.

“The exclusion of women from the conclave, and from ordained ministry, is a sin and a scandal,” Executive Director Kate McElwee said in a statement. “A group of ordained men meeting behind closed doors to make a consequential decision about the future of the church is textbook ‘old boy’s club.’”

As the Vatican prepares for the election of a new pope, many around the world have been doing their own preparations by watching Edward Berger’s movie “Conclave,” which won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay.

When news of Pope Francis' death broke, the film featuring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow had a viewership boost across available streaming platforms, according to Luminate, an entertainment data analytics company. (The film’s distributor is Focus Features, a unit of NBC News’ parent corporation, Comcast.) 

But how accurate is it?

“The film gets a lot right. They tried to reproduce the mise-en-scene of the Vatican accurately,” William Cavanaugh, a Catholic studies professor at DePaul University in Chicago, told The Associated Press. “They show that a lot of the drama is around the pre-conclave conversations among cardinals.”

All 133 cardinal electors who traveled to Rome are expected to enter the Sistine Chapel later this afternoon, according to the Vatican’s order of precedence for the procession.

Ahead of the conclave, Vatican experts say that no clear favorite has emerged, largely due to the unprecedented turnout that makes this the largest conclave to date.

“The sheer size and diversity of the College of Cardinals make it harder than ever to coalesce around a single strong candidate,” one expert wrote in the local newspaper Corriere della Sera, adding, “the longer the conclave stretches, especially if no white smoke appears by Thursday, the greater the chances of a surprise election.”

Some Italian outlets have named Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's 70-year-old top diplomat, as a front-runner. But conclaves, by their nature, are unpredictable.

Speaking to NBC News on the eve of the conclave, American prelate of the Catholic Church Bishop Robert Barron said he felt “nervous” about the election of the new pope.

“The pope makes a big difference in Catholic life, he sets the tone,” Barron said, adding that “a lot of people are little nervously wondering what’s coming next.”

But the experience is perhaps the strangest to the cardinal electors casting their ballots at the conclave, many of whom are elderly men and don't know one another well. “Because Francis appointed them from all over the world, they’re getting together and trying to meet each other,” Barron said.

Barron added that the cardinals are likely feeling the burden of what this moment signifies as the hour to voting get closer. “Those who have been in conclaves, when they describe it, they’ll say just that they feel the weight of it,” he said.

“And how can you walk in the Sistine Chapel, where there’s the secret and the Last Judgment staring at you, and not sense the kind of awesomeness of the moment,” he added.

Leaning over the railing on Via della Conciliazione, Sister Mary is waiting for her fellow sisters to join the procession. At 56, she flew to Rome from the tiny West African nation of Gambia to conduct a training course for young nuns.

“This is our first day here at the Vatican,” she says, adding that “we’ve been following the news on television, but today we want to witness the historic moment of the conclave.”

Discussing the late Pope Francis, whose tomb she visited earlier in the day, Mary adds that she “loved him for his closeness to the most humble.”

Of all the many sights and sounds etched onto the memory of anyone who's been alive long enough to witness a conclave, the white smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel chimney and the ringing of the church's bells signifying the appointment of a new pope are perhaps the most famous.

With the second result of each pair of votes — there are two morning votes and two afternoon votes on each full day of the conclave — the temporary chimney installed last week by the Vatican’s fire department will emit black smoke if the vote is inconclusive or white smoke if electors have come to a decision.

It may seem as old as the papacy itself, but the frescoed chapel's cast-iron stove used to burn ballots and personal notes was first used in 1939. Since 2005, the use of that stove triggers an electronic, smoke-producing device outfitted on a second, more modern one. Both stoves are about 3.2 feet high and have two openings — one for lighting them and one for ballots.

According to the Vatican press office, the black smoke is made by a cartridge holding a mixture of potassium perchlorate, anthracene and sulphur. The white smoke is created by a mixture of potassium chlorate, lactose and a pine resin also known as Greek pitch. The smoke travels up almost 100 feet of steel and copper tubes to the chimney and the world beyond.

The sun was covered by clouds and rain had begun to fall on St. Peter’s Square, but a Christian choir from the Pacific island-nation of Tonga was unbothered by a few drops. Opening their umbrellas to take shelter, members continued to pray, their hearty “hallelujah” resounding around the square.

“We came from the island of Tonga,” said Malia, a 58-year-old community service worker. “We planned this trip for the year of jubilee but we are really grateful that it happens in these days because it gives us the possibility to be say goodbye to Pope Francis and also to welcome the new pope.”

The jubilee Malia is referring to is the Papal Jubilee that was already underway before the passing of the late pontiff. The special period occurs once every 25 years, with pilgrims flocking to the Vatican as they are invited to renew their faith.

Lafaele Faasolo, 47, a farmer and one of the leaders of the Tongan group, had come dressed in a yellow straw mat, known as a taovala, that is usually tied around the waist worn for centuries by Tongans during official events. “We are dressed in our traditional attire, the Taovala,” Faasolo said, “which is a sign of respect.”

Paulist priest and best-selling author Dave Dwyer was in Vatican City for the last conclave. He told NBC News yesterday about the anticipation that leads up to the first ballot, the ringing of church bells and the moment when the first smoke emerges from the Sistine Chapel chimney.

“There’s so much palpable excitement and tension in the air that even when the smokes comes out and it’s black, people give a sigh of relief because they realize there’s still more to come,” Dwyer said.

Dwyer said the new pope will not necessarily be of the same mold as the late Pope Francis, who selected more than 80% of the cardinals now voting on his successor. “He might have seen in them something similar, but they are all very individual personalities, and from different cultures from around the world, so it’s not necessarily a slam dunk voting bloc,” he said.

He added that the discussions happening among the cardinal electors in the days leading up to the conclave saw them address issues of the church and the world at-large, as well as what Catholics around the globe might need in the next successor.

The cardinal electors had better finish watching those TikToks.

In just under an hour, the Vatican City Governorate Office will throw a switch and deactivate all mobile telecommunications signals within the city-state's territory, except for St. Peter's Square.

That, the office said today in a statement, will happen at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) and adhere to all regulatory and security rules that surround the strictly sealed conclave set to begin later this afternoon.

While the office initially said it would cut the signal from all Vatican territory, Vatican press office director Matteo Bruni later clarified that the shutdown would not affect the famous square where thousands of pilgrims and scores of live-casting news crews will be awaiting the announcement of a new pontiff.

Hien Bui might have a claim for the longest pilgrimage made here today.

He is here with a church of Vietnamese refugees who fled their country by boat after the war in the 1980s and are now based in Melbourne, Australia.

They organized their trip last year for the Vatican jubilee, which is also happening now and happens to coincide with the conclave. Around two dozen in number, they are easily recognizable as they stand under the Vatican obelisk, all wearing bright yellow hats and posing for group pictures.

“It’s so special to be here, feeling close to the early Christians who gave their lives for their faith,” said Bui, 62, a mental health counselor. “I feel very grateful and very happy.”

For once, you cannot say the devil is in the detail. In a small tailor shop steps from the Vatican, Raniero Mancinelli is putting the final touches to the new pope’s vestments. 

“I still need to finish,” he told NBC News on Monday as he worked on three white cassocks — sized small, medium and large — so the person elected in the conclave gets the right fit. 

Mancinelli, who dressed the last three pontiffs, said he used a “light but durable” wool for the late Pope Francis’ cassocks. “He wanted something practical, so that’s what I made,” he said. 

His predecessor, Benedict, preferred a blend of silk and wool, Mancinelli added.

Under the conclave rules, a new pope can only be elected through a two-third majority of votes, which is determined on the day of the conclave depending on the number of cardinal electors in attendance.

If 135 electors participate, that means a cardinal needs 90 votes.

If there are 34 inconclusive ballots, the candidates will be narrowed down to the two candidates who received the highest number of votes on the last ballot. They do not vote in the next ballots.

The square is now filling up with groups of worshippers whose churches have organized trips to Rome.

Among them is Fidjie Bordes, 29, a lab researcher from Paris who is a member of the diocese of d’Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes.

“I feel very grateful to be here,” she said after posing with a group shot in front of the basilica. “I am in search of peace. And that’s what I want from the next pope: peace.”

On the subject of the late Pope Francis — the man who today's conclave is voting to replace — take a look at NBC News' coverage of the life, death and funeral of the first Latin American pontiff, who reached out beyond the Catholic Church and leaves a legacy of relative progressivism.

• Pope Francis dies at 88
• Pope Francis leaves a legacy as a Catholic Church reformer
• A series of ancient traditions rule the pope’s funeral and conclave
• Pope Francis created a ‘seismic shift’ toward acceptance, LGBTQ Catholics say
• Pope Francis’ death leaves Catholic Church at a crossroads after he charted a progressive path
• Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, holds a special place for Hispanic Catholics
• How does a papal conclave work? People are turning to this Oscar-winning film to find out
• Gaza church remembers Pope Francis as its ‘shield’
• Pope Francis advanced women within a church that remains deeply patriarchal
• Vatican keeps St. Peter’s open all night as hundreds of thousands come to view Pope Francis
• Pope Francis adored fútbol, and the soccer world returns the love
• Long lines as Pope Francis’ humble final resting place opens to the public
• A simple ceremony and a powerful homily: Pope Francis funeral held a moral mirror to modern politics

Pope Francis was renowned for reaching out beyond Catholicism and trying to reach people of other faiths and cultures. That meant a lot to Nyanayasha, 49, a Buddhist monk from Indonesia who was watching the preconclave Mass from St. Peter’s Square.

“As a Buddhist, I really admired his work during his lifetime, his approach to humanity rather than just Catholic doctrine,” the monk said.

Whoever assumes the papacy will have huge influence far beyond the church itself, he added, “so the conclave is a really crucial moment in history.”

“I have a lot of hope for this conclave that no matter where the new pope stands, he will be more progressive,” he added. “That the newly chosen pope will continue Francis’ work of compassion for humanity, and not just for the Catholics.”

Visitors and the faithful in St. Peter’s Square are awaiting the announcement of a new pope as Vatican City entered the crucial first day of conclave. One American tourist said he hoped that the new pope would bring a message of “love and unity” to the Catholic Church.

It’s almost too on the nose, but just as the musical procession from St. Peter's Basilica rang out through the Vatican's streets, bright sunshine began to beam out from behind a wall of gray cloud, bathing Vatican City's cobbles in an ethereal glow.

Getting to know fellow cardinals can be “a bit of a challenge” because they are “scattered around the world,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, told NBC News last month.

“Whenever we have new cardinals, I have to run to get my atlas to find out where half of these countries are,” he said, adding that you got to know them by word about their reputation.  

“You kind of see what they write, you’d kind of know what any statements or any pastoral initiatives are taking. You would get to know them and because part of being a cardinal is that you would serve on different Vatican initiatives,” he said. 

Recalling a previous papal conclave, Dolan said he “had a real big suitcase because you don’t know how long you’re going to be in there. And you know the peanut butter alone is going to take up a lot of space.”

The cardinals are marking the end of the special pre-conclave Mass by slowly filing out of the St. Peter's Basilica in a long line.

It's quite a scene, with the cardinals dressed in their customary long scarlet cassocks and white miter hats as they process down the basilica's central aisle and leave through the main entrance. While they do so, thousands of worshippers look on as the church's organs strike up and echo through its gleaming, cavernous halls.

Now, the cardinals will prepare for this afternoon's procession to mark the beginning of the conclave.

Not everyone here is religious — or even following proceedings in detail. But few fail to be caught up in the historical gravity of what’s playing out.

“I was in Rome in vacation anyway and so it seemed like an event that was worth seeing,” said Jared Castillo, 22, a recent graduate from New Hampshire. He was among those in St. Peter’s Square watching the ceremony on large screens.

“I’m not religious, and I’m not really sure what’s going on,” he said of the Mass, which was being conducted in Italian and Latin. “But it’s definitely a historic, interesting event.”

The Sistine Chapel, built by Pope Sixtus and famous for its ceiling and rear wall frescoes painted by Michelangelo, has been the permanent site for the conclave since 1878.

Before then, the location of the conclave varied, although the first conclave held in the Sistine Chapel took place in 1492, when Alexander VI was elected.

During the conclave, the Sistine Chapel is arranged so that each elector has an assigned seat behind a desk. Two stoves are temporarily installed near the principal entrance. No electronic devices devices are allowed inside, and a false floor is installed under which is electronic jamming equipment is working away to prevent any surveillance or leaks.

Conclave means “with a key,” as all business is done in secrecy behind locked doors.

As well as attending a religious event, this is also clearly an opportunity to score some likes on “the ‘gram.”

St. Peter's Square is dotted with selfie-takers, some throwing up peace signs as they pose in front of the red-curtained balcony where the elected "Vicar of Christ" will emerge.

Some couples clinched in a side-on embrace and pout — facing their phones, and away from the large screens showing the ceremony inside the basilica.

The Dean of the College of Cardinals Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re today called for spiritual support and stregnth during this "complex turning point in history."

During a homily at a Mass before the conclave was set to begin, Re said the cardinal electors will undertake “an act of the highest human and ecclesial responsibility” in choosing the next pope.

“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 at this difficult and complex turning point in history," he said in St. Peter's Basilica.

Outside the basilica, as the hymns echo off the living museum that is the Vatican, the rain has really started coming down.

Those with umbrellas have put them up; those without were sent scurrying for shelter under the 284 colonnades that flank the square, built from marble and travertine by architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 17th century.

Cardinal electors due to vote in the conclave today streamed into St. Peter’s Basilica to take part in a special Mass led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

Dressed in traditional red robes, all the cardinals celebrated the Mass Pro Eligendo Pontifice (for the election of the pope), marking the occasion by singing hymns and praying for the 133 cardinals who have been tasked with electing the 267th pope.

Those tasked with voting for a new pontiff will listen to one another to try and find a pontiff who best meets the needs of the church and the world, a cardinal taking part in the conclave tells NBC News.

Speaking shortly after Francis’ death, Cardinal Michael Czerny said that after his colleagues met in “general congregations” they would go into the conclave. 

They will “listen to one another about what the needs of the church and of the world are, and we reflect on who, first of all, what profile, and then who among us could meet those needs,” he told NBC News last month.

Czerny, who served as prefect at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the last years of Francis’ pontificate, added that he was “grateful” Francis “could peacefully go.” 

As the pre-conclave Mass began inside St. Peter’s Basilica, a light drizzle made the surrounding cobblestones, some of which were laid during the time of Pope Sixtus V in the 1500s, treacherously slick.

Crowds are beginning to gather in and around the square, eager to watch the smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel following the first round of voting this afternoon.

Many people walked with care around the colonnades flanking this historic piazza. And with good reason: One cyclist took a painful-looking tumble as his wheel skidded on the greasy paving.

Storms both meteorological and perhaps ecclesiastical are forecast later.

The cardinals are now sequestered inside the Vatican ready to choose a new pope. But beforehand, some shared their thoughts on how long they believed the process will last.

“No, I don’t think so,” Cardinal Rubén Salazar of Colombia said when stopped by NBC News in a street near St. Peter’s Basilica yesterday and asked if he thought it would be a lengthy conclave.

Others are less certain.

“We never know whether it’s going to be a short conclave,” said Cardinal Virgilio do Carlo da Silva, of East Timor. He too bumped into NBC News while walking around the square.

The Vatican has said that this year’s conclave will be the largest ever, with more than 130 cardinal electors eligible to participate, of whom 108 are “novices” who have never before taken part in the selection of a new pontiff.

The exact number of cardinal electors participating in the conclave isn't certain until it starts, since those who don't participate are usually unable to attend for health or travel reasons. The exact number required to elect a pope also changes based on the total number of electors in attendance.

Only five cardinals present at the conclave today voted in 2005: Philippe Barbarin of France, Josip Bozanić of Croatia, Péter Erdő of Hungary, Vinco Pulić of Bosnia, and Peter Turkson of Ghana.

NBC News has compiled a list cardinals believed to be contenders to become the next pontiff:

•Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungo, archbishop of Kinshasa (Congo)

• Cardinal Anders Arborelius, bishop of Stockholm

• Cardinal Jean-March Aveline, archbishop of Marseille (France)

• Cardinal Charles Muang Bo, archbishop of Yangon (Myanmar)

• Cardinal Willem Eijk, archbishop of Utretch (Netherlands)

• Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Budapest (Hungary)

Today marks the beginning of the conclave, when 133 cardinals from across the world will gather to elect a new pontiff. Later this afternoon, they will cast their votes in the historic Sistine Chapel.

Here's how events are expected to unfold:

• 10 a.m. (4 a.m. ET): The cardinals will gather in St Peter’s Basilica for Mass.
• 4:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. ET): The cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel, where each cardinal will swear the oath to observe the rules for electing a new pope. Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa will deliver the second meditation, after which everyone but electors will leave the chapel so that the cardinals' can begin the conclave in isolation.

VATICAN CITY — On the eve of the conclave to elect the next pope, the world’s smallest country is engulfed in commotion.

Packs of pilgrims chant and sing as they carry large, wooden crosses on the uneven cobblestones toward St. Peter’s Basilica. Street vendors and polo shirt-wearing tourists haggle over 1 euro refrigerator magnets bearing the face of the late Pope Francis. Espresso machines hiss, taxi drivers honk and crowds swell under intermittent clouds strafing the Vatican — which this week feels like the center of the universe.

The real action will happen nearby under a hush of near silence and total secrecy.

Today, 133 cardinal electors from all over the world will gather under the god-breathed frescos of the Sistine Chapel for the most clandestine of ballots. Barred from leaving and with zero contact with the outside world, they must vote — and vote, and perhaps vote again — until they select the next leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

Read the full story here.

VATICAN CITY — As world leaders took to their front row seats at the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Catholic pilgrims gathered in and around the pillared walls of St. Peter’s Square.

In a sunbaked Vatican City, huge crowds of devoted faithful stood for hours in a section beyond the neat rows of cardinals, who remained seated in their colorful robes and hats.

The laying to rest of the late pope was just one crescendo in what will be a weekslong series of events between the death of one pontiff and the naming of another that last happened two decades ago. It has drawn masses of Catholics from across the world to pay their respects and await the news of Francis’ successor, giving the city-state a somber but friendly atmosphere.

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Dust off the history books and there are papal conclaves with international intrigue, royal rigging and even riots, a checkered past that belies the air of sanctity and solemnity surrounding modern papal elections.

The word “conclave” comes from the Latin for “with key.” It is a church tradition that began in 1268 with a papal election that lasted almost three years, ending only when the townspeople of Viterbo locked up the cardinals, tore the roof off their palace, fed them nothing but bread and water and threatened them until a new pope was chosen.

While it is very unlikely the decision on Pope Francis’ successor will take quite as long or be quite as contentious, Vatican watchers agree that the winner is not a foregone conclusion.

NBC News takes a look at the figures believed to be the top contenders.

Read the full story here.