Vatican workers have started preparations for the upcoming Conclave to elect a new pope, including installing a stove in the Sistine Chapel where ballots will be burned.
On Saturday, the Holy See released a video showing the stove installation and a false floor being added to level the frescoed chapel. Workers also set up wooden tables for the cardinals to sit at during the vote and added a ramp for cardinals in wheelchairs.
On Friday, fire crews were seen attaching a chimney to the roof, which will release smoke signals to indicate the election results.
The Conclave will begin on Wednesday, 7th May, with a Mass in St Peter's Basilica. Afterwards, 133 cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel, take their oaths, and cast their first ballots. If no candidate receives the required two-thirds majority (89 votes), black smoke will signal the result; after every two rounds of voting, the ballots are burned in the stove.
White smoke will announce a new pope.
The white smoke emerged from the chimney on the fifth ballot on 13th March, 2013, when Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was introduced to the world as Pope Francis from the loggia of St Peter's Basilica.
Cardinals are also holding informal discussions about the future direction of the Church and the qualities needed in the next pope.
