Catholic Cardinals gather in the Vatican to select the new pope

In a ritual that has roots in the Middle Ages, the cardinals would put in Vatican Sistine Hat, following a public mass at St. Peter's Basilica and launch the secret council to elect the successor of Pope Francis, who died last month.

No pope has been elected on the first day of the council, known as the secret treaty for centuries, so the vote could continue for several days before any of the church's red hat princes received the necessary two-thirds majority of the vote to become Pope 267.

There will be only one vote Wednesday. In the coming days, cardinals can vote up to four times a day, follow through. Periscope.

In the end, they burn the ballots and, if black smoke comes out from the chimney on the roof of the hat, it means that the new pope has not yet been chosen. White smoke and falling bells indicate that the church has a new leader.

At Wednesday's morning mass in St. Peter's Basilica, prior to the conclusion, the cardinals prayed that God would help them find a pope that would exercise a “alert watch” on the world.

In his sermon, Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Re told his colleagues that they should set aside “any personal assessment” during the election of the new pope and take into account the only good of the church and of humanity”.

Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, is 91 years old and will not participate in the agreement, because only part of it can be cardinals under 80.

Cardinals, over the past few days, have given different assessments of what they are looking for in the next pope.

While some have called for continuation with Francescu's vision of more reforms and openness, others have sought a return to old traditions. Many have expressed a desire for a more predictable and discreet pope.

A record 133 cardinals from 70 countries will enter the Sistine Hat, compared with 115 from 48 countries in the 2013 Conclave, a rise reflecting Francisco's efforts to expand the influence of the church in remote regions with few Catholics.

Still no clear favour, although Italian cardinal Pietro Parrol and Cardinal Filipinos Luis Antonio Tagle are considered among the main contenders.

As in medieval times, cardinals will be barred from communicating with the outside world during the accord, and the Vatican has taken high-tech measures to secure secrecy, including devices blocking signals to prevent surveillance.

The average length of the last ten agreements has been just over three days, and no one has lasted more than five days. The 2013 convention lasted only two days.

Cardinals will try to close the process quickly this time, to avoid the impression that they are divided or that the church has no leadership. /REL/