Send to Kindle
Lights illuminate Saint Peter`s Basilica, Vatican City, 11 March 2013. Photo by BGNES
The papal conclave tasked with electing a successor to retired Pope Benedict XVI begins Tuesday in Vatican City.
On Tuesday afternoon, 115 cardinal-electors, all of them under 80, will walk to the Sistine Chapel to begin the secret election, after a public Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in the morning, according to reports of the BBC News.
The cardinals are to begin voting late on Tuesday afternoon, with no clear frontrunner in sight.
The cardinals will vote four tines daily until one candidate has won a 2/3 majority, or 77 votes.
Black smoke from a makeshift copper chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel will indicate that no candidate has been elected while white smoke will announce the election of the 266th Pope.
The 115 cardinals will be banned from communicating with the outside world and the Vatican has installed electronic counter-bugging measures to ensure secrecy.
The election was prompted by the surprise resignation of Benedict XVI announced on February 11.
85-year-old Pope Benedict resigned after eight years in office, citing ill health.
As Pope Francis' passing on April 21 has prompted speculation over who will succeed him, media outlets are highlighting potential candidates for the papal conclave
Pope Francis passed away on the morning of April 21 following a stroke, as confirmed by the Vatican's press service
Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev and a delegation accompanying him were granted an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican
The Vatican has issued a strong condemnation of gender reassignment surgery and surrogacy, labeling them as "serious threats" to human dignity
The Vatican has undergone a notable shift in its approach towards the ongoing war in Ukraine, signaling a firmer stance against Russia's aggression
“I will not resign today. You will get answers to all the questions next week.”
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic claimed that Croatia was the foreign state most actively involved in what he described as an attempted “color revolution” in Serbia
US President Donald Trump declared that Iran has been “totally defeated” following American airstrikes on Kharg Island, releasing video footage that he said shows the scale of the operation and the destruction inflicted on Iranian military assets.
Global oil markets have reacted sharply to the escalation of military strikes against Iran. According to Agence France-Presse, the price of Brent crude has jumped by roughly 42% since the start of U.S. and Israeli attacks on the country.
Earlier this month, Croatia welcomed its first group of conscripts at the Eugen Kvaternik military training center near Slunj, marking the return of compulsory military service, which had been suspended since 2007
Turkish air defenses shot down a third missile targeting Incirlik Air Base, near Adana, reportedly fired from Iran, according to Cumhuriyet
The United States has temporarily eased restrictions on the purchase of certain Russian oil shipments currently stranded at sea, as global energy markets face growing strain due to the ongoing war involving Iran.
Aniventure Comic Con Returns to Bulgaria with Star Guest Christopher Judge!
Global Fuel Shock: Oil Jumps Over 40% Since Iran War Began
