Vatican Installs Conclave Chimney for Papal Election/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Vatican workers have installed the iconic stove in the Sistine Chapel ahead of the May 7 conclave to elect a new pope. The stove is used to burn ballots, with smoke signals indicating election progress. Meanwhile, speculation continues around possible candidates and their health.
Vatican Conclave Preparations Quick Looks:
- Sistine Chapel stove installed to burn papal election ballots.
- White or black smoke will signal election outcomes.
- 133 cardinal electors expected, with two excused for health reasons.
- May 7 conclave follows Pope Francis’s death on April 21.
- Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica will precede the conclave opening.
- Cardinal Parolin denies reports of health issues.
- Cardinals will vote up to four times daily until a pope is elected.
- Ballots mixed with chemicals to produce distinct smoke colors.
Deep Look: Vatican Prepares Sistine Chapel for Papal Conclave, Installs Traditional Stove
VATICAN CITY (AP) – The Vatican has begun the solemn preparations for the conclave to elect a new pope, including the installation of the famed stove in the Sistine Chapel, where cardinal electors will burn their ballots starting May 7.
The installation of the stove and its chimney—responsible for producing the black or white smoke that signals the progress of the election—marks a key milestone in the sacred rituals leading up to the selection of the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
Conclave Setup in Motion
In footage released Saturday, Vatican workers were seen preparing the chapel, placing a false floor to level the historic space, lining up simple wooden tables for voting, and installing accessibility ramps for any cardinal in a wheelchair.
On Friday, fire crews secured the chimney to the chapel roof, through which the smoke signals will rise—black for inconclusive votes, white for a successful election.
From Ritual to Reality: The Conclave Timeline
The conclave begins on Wednesday, May 7, with a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals. That afternoon, the 133 cardinal electors will process into the Sistine Chapel, hear a spiritual meditation, and take their oaths of secrecy before casting their first ballots.
If no candidate achieves the required two-thirds majority (89 votes), the ballots are burned with a mix of potassium perchlorate, anthracene, and sulfur, producing black smoke. If a pope is elected, ballots are burned with potassium chlorate, lactose, and chloroform resin to emit white smoke.
Voting will continue—two rounds in the morning and two in the afternoon—until a new pope is chosen. This traditional process is cloaked in secrecy and rich symbolism, with global Catholics watching the smoke signals for news of their next leader.
Papal Candidate Speculation and Health Rumors
As cardinals begin informal discussions on the future direction of the church, speculation around candidates intensifies.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, seen as a potential frontrunner, was the subject of unconfirmed media reports claiming he suffered a health scare earlier in the week.
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni firmly denied the reports, calling them unfounded and politically motivated. The rumors were circulated by Italian outlets and CatholicVote.org, led by Brian Burch, a Trump-era nominee for U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.
Health rumors are a common tactic during conclaves, with attempts to boost or undermine candidates. Pope Francis, in 2013, was famously questioned about a rumored lung condition just before being elected.
Two Cardinals Withdraw for Health Reasons
The Vatican also confirmed that Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera (Spain) and Cardinal John Njue (Kenya) will not participate due to health issues, reducing the number of electors from 135 to 133, with four more still expected to arrive in Rome.
A Historic Moment for the Church
This conclave follows the April 21 death of Pope Francis, the first pope from Latin America, who led the church for over a decade. The conclave is both a moment of transition and an opportunity to set the direction of the church for decades to come.
As cardinals meet in private to discuss the church’s future challenges—from secularism to abuse scandals to geopolitical tensions—the stove and smoke will mark the outside world’s only window into one of the most secretive processes in global religion.
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