Conclave 2025: The Vatican is preparing the final details for the election of Pope Francis' successor.

The cardinals who will elect Pope Francis 's successor began settling in Tuesday at the Vatican, which has already arranged the long tables and chairs in the majestic Sistine Chapel, the setting for the long-awaited and crucial conclave.

The identity of the future pontiff is the great unknown in a conclave that experts anticipate will be open and without clear favorites, after the reformist pontificate of the Argentine Jesuit sparked popular fervor and division within the Church.

"It shouldn't be too closed-minded, but rather support our youth who come with values ​​that may be different from ours," Mexican Verónica de García, a tourism representative at the Vatican, told AFP.

Cardinal and Archbishop of Algiers Jean-Paul Vesco indicated that there are "at least five or six" figures who could be chosen, in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

"But there's no one who 'crushes' the others, no one you might think, 'It'll be him,'" he said.

Two days

The conclave will officially begin on Wednesday.

The Vatican released images of the Sistine Chapel the day before, reflecting the solemnity: several rows of tables are decorated with brown and red fabrics, on which the names of the cardinals appear.

Starting at 3:00 PM (7:00 AM Central Mexico time) on Wednesday, telephone signals will be cut inside the Vatican to isolate the cardinals from outside influences.

During the conclave, the "princes of the Church" must remain without telephone, internet, or media access, and must maintain secrecy regarding everything related to the election of the new Supreme Pontiff.

In nearby St. Peter's Square, thousands of people will be watching the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel , waiting for a glimpse of the white smoke, the first sign of the election of the 267th pope.

The election of Benedict XVI in 2005 and that of Francis in 2013 took two days. But some now expect it to take longer, especially given that this is the most international conclave in history, with cardinals from 70 countries.

Keep the secret

The large number of cardinal electors meant that the Santa Marta residence, where they have usually stayed since the 2005 conclave, became too small, and a neighboring building, which normally houses Vatican officials, had to be converted into a residence.

Before 2005, the cardinals were housed in makeshift rooms in the Apostolic Palace, which were more uncomfortable and had few bathrooms, so Pope John Paul II decided to build the current residence.

Santa Marta, where Francis also decided to live, has rooms with private bathrooms and hotel-like amenities. The cardinals were assigned rooms by lottery.

The cardinals can go there until the Wednesday Mass in St. Peter's Basilica preceding the conclave. By then, they should have safely locked up their cell phones.

The staff who will support them during the election—doctors, elevator operators, cafeteria and cleaning staff, etc.—also swore an oath on Monday to secrecy regarding what happens, under penalty of excommunication.

Priorities

This Tuesday, the cardinals participated in their final preparatory meeting, which they have held almost daily since the death of Jorge Mario Bergoglio on April 21. During this meeting, they addressed various issues concerning the Church.

At the end of the Mass, they called for peace "in Ukraine, the Middle East, and many other parts of the world" in a written statement. The day before his death, Francis had once again called for an end to conflicts.

During the meetings, the cardinals also discussed Vatican finances, the sexual assault scandal, Church unity, and the profile of the next pope, while many took the opportunity to get to know each other.

"The profile of a pastoral pope, a teacher of humanity, capable of embodying the face of a Samaritan Church, close to the needs and wounds of humanity, was outlined," the Vatican press service reported Tuesday.

The discussions thus fuel the reflection ahead of the final vote in the Sistine Chapel, before the fresco of the Last Judgment painted by Michelangelo in the 16th century.