Waiting for the White Smokes As Cardinals begin Conclave

Cardinals convene in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican this Tuesday to begin their conclave to elect the next pope. There's no front-runner or indication how long voting will last. 

A total of 115 cardinals from 48 countries - all under the age of 80 - are taking part in the elaborate ritual, which continues until one of them receives a two-thirds majority, or 77 votes, necessary to become the 266th pope.

In the early morning, the cardinals moved into St. Martha's Residence located behind St Peter's Basilica. From there they will ride to the Sistine Chapel each day in a bus with blacked-out windows.

The conclave officially began with the beginning of mass in Saint Peter's Basilica. The cardinals will then start their secluded assembly in the Sistine Chapel in the afternoon. Security measures and precautions have been taken to ensure a successful conclave.

• Bug-sweepers will ensure the Sistine Chapel is secure, so no details can be leaked, the AFP reports. If a cardinal were to betray the secrecy, he would face excommunication.
• And it's just as important that nothing leak in: Cardinals are kept from any information from the outside world, so as to make sure no outsiders influence them.
• The church may be centuries old, but its security methods are not: Underneath Michelangelo's fresco, a system is installed that will scramble any attempt at mobile communications with the outside. Still, some traditional methods remain: The cardinals must swear oaths of secrecy.
• But they're not the only ones holed up in the Vatican: There are also cooks, doctors, priests to take confession, and technicians to make sure secrecy is maintained, NPR reports.
• Think you can sit wherever you like? Think again. Electors must draw lots to figure out their places.
• Once everyone has cast a vote, the votes are counted as a needle and thread are passed through the ballots. The thread is knotted at the end of the count to ensure everything remains fraud-free. (And, of course, when a winner emerges, we'll see white smoke coming from the Vatican's chimney as the ballots are burnt.) Three cardinals check the ballots, the New York Times reports.
• Nowadays, a chemical is used to make sure the smoke comes out black when no pope has been chosen—but it doesn't always work, an expert says. "Last time the smoke came out gray," he notes. "I wish they'd test it and make sure it works."
• Tomorrow will likely see one vote; then four ballots occur each day until a two-thirds consensus is reached.
• Should the voting take longer than a day, the cardinals will sleep in hotel-like accommodations—and each will even have his own bathroom. In the past, cardinals had to stay in the ballot room or share bathrooms.
• Of course, quite a bit of Latin is spoken, starting with the announcement, "Extra omnes!" That means "everybody [except cardinals] out!" and signals voting is about to begin. Across the ballots is the heading, "Eligo in Summum Pontificem" or "I elect as Supreme Pontiff."
• The chosen pope is asked to accept the position, and technically he can refuse. Assuming he does not, he dons the white robes; there are three sizes prepared in advance.