Stove to burn conclave ballots for new pope installed in Sistine Chapel

The stove where ballots to elect the new pope will be burned during the upcoming conclave has been installed in the Sistine Chapel.

The Vatican's fire brigade was seen on the roof of the Sistine Chapel on Friday installing the chimney that will become the focus for millions around the world waiting to see who will become the next head of the Catholic Church after Pope Francis died on 21 April, aged 88.

A video released by the Holy See on Saturday showed the practical preparations for the conclave, including installing the stove and a false floor in the chapel to make it even.

A total of 133 cardinals will gather to form a conclave to elect the next pope, beginning on 7 May.

Black smoke, from the burning of ballots and potassium perchlorate anthracene - a component of coal tar - and sulphur, will be emitted from the chimney if at least 89 cardinals fail to agree on the next pope when they vote in each round.

White smoke - produced by the ballots mixed with potassium chlorate, lactose and chloroform resin - will eventually appear when two-thirds (89) of the 133 cardinals have decided on who will lead the Church.

Despite Donald Trump posting an AI-generated image of himself dressed in papal regalia on Saturday, he will not be in the running.

The footage also showed workers lining up wooden tables where the cardinals will sit to cast their votes on Wednesday.

A ramp has been installed leading to the main seating area for those using a wheelchair.

To prevent the secret deliberations from being bugged, there will be a technology blackout to ensure the cardinals have no contact with the outside world.

Read more:
How does the Sistine Chapel prepare for conclave?
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Silvio Screpanti, the engineer overseeing the preparations, said workers are deactivating all electronic sensors installed in the Sistine Chapel in recent years to help protect its frescoes.

Over the next few days, all the windows of the Apostolic Palace facing the Sistine Chapel will be blacked out.

Mr Screpanti said 80 seals will be put up on the eve of the vote around the perimeter of the space where the cardinals will live to keep outsiders away.

The day the conclave begins, there will be a morning mass in St Peter's Basilica celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

After that, the cardinal electors will be cut off from the rest of the world.

On Wednesday afternoon, they will process into the Sistine Chapel, hear a meditation and take their oaths before casting their first ballots.

If no candidate reaches the necessary two-thirds majority in the first ballot, the cardinals will go to their Vatican residences for the night and return to the chapel on Thursday morning to conduct two votes, then two in the afternoon until a winner is declared.

When Pope Francis was elected, the white smoke came out of the chimney on the fifth ballot on 13 March 2013.

(c) Sky News 2025: Stove to burn conclave ballots for new pope installed in Sistine Chapel