The Catholic College of Cardinals, convening in Rome on Wednesday, has begun its process of electing the next pope following the death of Pope Francis on April 21.
The electoral process, known as a conclave, will take place primarily in the Sistine Chapel within the Vatican City state.
Only voting-age cardinals—those under the age of 80—take part in the election of the new pope, and the actual election process is closed to anyone not able to participate.
The Vatican has in recent years gone to great lengths to preserve the secrecy of the conclave, sweeping for surveillance devices and instituting signal jammers when the cardinals are meeting. The efforts are not without reason. It has been alleged that the U.S.’s National Security Agency surveilled the Vatican leading up to the previous conclave in March 2013. The State Department had also reportedly kept tabs…
