Cardinals to Meet in Secrecy Old and New
Cardinals attend a mass in St. Peter's Basilica Sunday, the day of their last meeting before a conclave begins Monday to elect a new pope. Reuters hide caption
Monday, 115 cardinals of the Catholic Church will withdraw into a conclave in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope. It will be the first conclave in more than a quarter of a century. The session will also be the first in which medieval and renaissance pageantry will blend with state-of-the-art technology.
A new floor was installed in the chapel Saturday. Beneath it lies a wealth of electronic jamming devices, meant to prevent spying on the secret sessions.