The Vatican will shut down mobile communications in the tiny city-state during the conclave to elect a new Pope, which will take place at 3 p.m. on May 7.
This was reported by the press service of the Holy See.
This is necessary so that the cardinals are in complete isolation during the conclave. Communication will only be restored after the name of the new Pope is announced from the central balcony of St. Peterʼs Basilica.
The mobile phone restrictions will not affect St. Peterʼs Square. Thousands of worshippers are expected to gather in the square in front of the basilica to await the announcement.
"Many expect the new Pope to be close to the people, to become a guide and a bridge to unity in the face of a global crisis," Vatican Press Secretary Matteo Bruni said at a daily briefing.
The cardinals who will take part in the conclave are forbidden from any contact with the outside world to avoid influencing the elections. Their phones will remain in Santa Marta, and communication will be turned off both in the residence and in the Sistine Chapel. Each cardinal has been given a dossier with photos and biographies of the conclave participants.
- On April 21, the Vatican reported the death of Pope Francis. He died of a stroke and subsequent irreversible heart failure after a long illness — he was in the hospital from February 14 to March 23. The pontiff had developed bilateral pneumonia. His condition was serious.
- The pontiff was buried on April 26 — the first time in 100 years that a pope was buried outside the Vatican walls, in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Among the leaders who arrived for the funeral in Rome were, in particular, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.
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