{"id":2431918,"date":"2025-05-07T12:34:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T16:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/papal-conclave-begins-as-cardinals-enter-sistine-chapel-under-lockdown\/"},"modified":"2025-05-07T12:37:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T16:37:08","slug":"papal-conclave-begins-as-cardinals-enter-sistine-chapel-under-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/papal-conclave-begins-as-cardinals-enter-sistine-chapel-under-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Papal conclave begins as cardinals enter Sistine Chapel under lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpapal-conclave-begins-as-cardinals-enter-sistine-chapel-under-lockdown%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2431918&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>On Wednesday afternoon, a group of 133 cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel for a papal conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis. As the doors were sealed at 5:46 p.m., the cardinals began their process of seclusion, where they will remain until a new bishop of Rome is chosen. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-trump-hosts-fundraiser-for-new-gop-chair-rep-elise-stefanik\/\" title=\"President Trump ho...s fundraiser for new GOP Chair Rep. Elise ...efanik\">event began<\/a> with a procession, where the cardinals invoked the names of saints while chanting a Litany, requesting their prayers.<\/p>\n<p>The path to this conclave has been complex,with disagreements among cardinals hindering the emergence of a clear candidate. While Cardinal Pietro Parolin is currently viewed as a leading contender, other candidates like Cardinals Luis Tagle adn Peter Erdo have failed to garner the necessary support. In a bid to ensure confidentiality, cellphone signals around Vatican City are being jammed, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wh-unveils-new-press-briefing-lectern-and-its-about-as-bad-as-youd-expect\/\" title=\"New WH Press Briefing Lectern Unveiled, Lives Up to Low Expectations\">limiting media access<\/a> to the electing process.<\/p>\n<p>The conclave operates under strict traditions, where cardinals cannot publicly campaign and must <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >form informal voting blocs<\/a> to support their candidates. As discussions continue within the closed environment, emerging alternatives may gain traction if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/radical-cultural-change-coming-to-america\/\" title=\"Radical Cultural Change Coming to America?\">preferred candidates<\/a> cannot secure sufficient votes. The decision will be publicly signaled through the color of smoke emitted from the Sistine Chapel\u2019s chimney, with white smoke indicating that a new pope has been elected. The conclave is currently being closely watched by thousands gathered outside St.Peter&#8217;s Basilica, eager for updates on this important event in the catholic Church.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Cardinals enter Sistine Chapel for papal conclave under total digital lockdown<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2114918\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>VATICAN CITY &mdash; <\/strong>On Wednesday afternoon, red-hatted clerics who carry the same weight and dignity as princes within the Catholic Church entered the Sistine Chapel for the papal conclave to choose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pope-francis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Pope Francis\">Pope Francis<\/a>&lsquo;s successor.&nbsp;At 5:46 p.m. local time, the doors were sealed.<\/p>\n<p>The 133 cardinals will remain in total seclusion within the chapel and its adjoining buildings until they choose from among themselves the next bishop of Rome, the servant of the servants of God and Vicar of Christ on Earth.<\/p>\n<p>As the clock struck 4:30 p.m. in Rome,&nbsp;the screens in St&nbsp;Peter&rsquo;s&nbsp;Square came to life, and the booming Latin remarks of Cardinal Secretary of State <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3397998\/pope-contender-cardinal-pietro-parolin-china-issue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Pietro Parolin\">Pietro Parolin<\/a> rang out through Vatican City.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/3403750\/fcc-chairman-brendan-carr-deregulation-effort-more-mergers\/\">FCC chairman suggests &#8216;massive deregulation effort&#8217; will lead to more mergers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3403692\/jen-psaki-sean-duffy-career-msnbc-segment-pete-buttigieg\/\">Psaki says MTV &#8216;Road Rules&#8217; behind Duffy becoming transportation secretary<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3403790\/israeli-hostages-families-alarmed-trump-fewer-still-alive\/\">Israeli hostage families alarmed after Trump says fewer are still alive than previously shared<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>They filed two by two into the chapel as they chanted, invoking the names of dozens of apostles, martyrs, and other servants of God throughout time. &ldquo;Ora pro nobis&rdquo; was the response to each name &mdash; &ldquo;Pray for us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Onlookers stood in awe as the video feed followed the cardinals from the Pauline Chapel to the Sistine Chapel. All the way, they sang the Litany of the Saints &mdash; invoking God to have mercy on them and the saints to pray for their souls.<\/p>\n<p>The road to this moment has been winding. Initial hopes that a clear candidate would emerge prior to the seclusion period were all but dashed after members reported infighting and disagreements on the direction the church needs to take.<\/p>\n<p>Parolin remains the top contender, but he,&nbsp;along with other papabile such as Cardinal&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/may\/05\/luis-antonio-tagle-cardinal-philippines-catholic-karaoke-priest-pope\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Luis Tagle\">Luis Tagle<\/a> of the Philippines and Cardinal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/05\/05\/world\/europe\/cardinal-erdo-hungary-conservative-pope-candidate.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Peter Erdo\">Peter Erdo<\/a> of Hungary, reportedly hit a ceiling early, quite short of the 89 votes necessary to secure the papal tiara.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3386646\/pope-francis-successor-speculation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>PAPAL PUNDITRY KICKS IN OVER WHO WILL SUCCEED POPE FRANCIS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez walks to the Vatican on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, on the day cardinals sequester themselves at the Vatican for the start of a conclave to elect the 267th Roman pontiff, a successor to Pope Francis. (AP Photo\/Francisco Seco)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The media will suffer a less severe yet frustrating blackout. Cellphone signals in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/vatican\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Vatican City\">Vatican City<\/a> are being jammed to ensure the cardinals&rsquo; physical isolation is complemented by a digital exile.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3402191\/sistine-chapel-prepped-papal-conclave-future-catholic-church\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"SISTINE CHAPEL PREPPED FOR CONCLAVE AS BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN FOR FUTURE OF CATHOLIC CHURCH\"><strong>SISTINE CHAPEL PREPPED FOR CONCLAVE AS BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN FOR FUTURE OF CATHOLIC CHURCH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Winning over a handful, dozen, or even two dozen supporters within the college is difficult enough. Popes do not campaign for the position. In the Catholic hierarchy, ambition is unbecoming. At the highest levels of leadership,&nbsp;it&rsquo;s&nbsp;considered outright dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, senior cardinals often generate informal voting blocs with support from allies. These blocs subtly or aggressively push people they see as in line with their hopes for the church&rsquo;s direction.<\/p>\n<p>But candidates must be vetted thoroughly before being pushed. Once a cardinal becomes pope, he answers to no one. The Holy See wields absolute, unimpeachable power over the church and Vatican City.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A seagull flies past as another sits on the roof by the chimney of the Sistine Chapel ahead of the conclave, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo\/Andrew Medichini)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A pope is also scrutinized by the public like no other leader on Earth. It is a fact of modern life that presidential mistresses, prime ministers&rsquo; shady pasts in banking, and compromising photos of royalty might cause a scandal but are not necessarily undermining of the office.<\/p>\n<p>But the Catholic Church is not part of modern life. Murmurs of immorality or scandal in the Vatican carry much more weight, enough to chip away at the ancient&nbsp;institution&rsquo;s&nbsp;moral credibility.<\/p>\n<p>Cardinals will be able to discuss the election and candidates further during the conclave, between votes, during meals, and on their own time. These conversations could produce new candidates or carve paths for papabile thought to have hit a wall.<\/p>\n<p>As preferred candidates begin to show an inability to reach two-thirds, alternatives are considered and compromises attempted.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cardinals adjust their mitre hats during a final Mass celebrated by cardinals inside St. Peter&rsquo;s Basilica before the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo\/Gregorio Borgia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Earlier Wednesday, St. Peter&rsquo;s Square was bustling despite the gray clouds trickling occasional raindrops over&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/vatican\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vatican City<\/a>. Massive television screens were placed under statues of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/christianity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sts. Peter and Paul<\/a>. More displays extend down the Via della Conciliazione. Thousands will use these screens to monitor the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3402191\/sistine-chapel-prepped-papal-conclave-future-catholic-church\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">conclave<\/a>, standing too far from St. Peter&rsquo;s Basilica to see the chimney smoke or the new pontiff appear. If the smoke is white, a new pope has been decided.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2114918\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2114918\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cardinals enter Sistine Chapel for conclave under digital lockdown<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2431919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/vatican-city-conclave.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[11748,53985,54480],"class_list":["post-2431918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cardinals","tag-papal-conclave","tag-sistine-chapel"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/vatican-city-conclave.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2431918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2431918"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2431918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2431922,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2431918\/revisions\/2431922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2431919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2431918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2431918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2431918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}