ROME, ITALY — MAY 6, 2025 — USERS MUST CREDIT “VATICAN MEDIA” HANDOUT — EDITORIAL USE ONLY — The historic Sistine Chapel, where the Papal Conclave is set to begin tomorrow, has been specially prepared for the 133 cardinals to cast their votes to elect the new pope of the Catholic Church. The footage released by the Vatican on Tuesday, May 6, shows the key preparations. The benches for the cardinals have been placed, the chimney system that will send smoke signals indicating whether a new pope has been elected has been installed, and the papal garments that the new pope will wear in the chapel’s special room known as the “Room of Tears” have been set in place. The Vatican on Monday announced that cardinals from around the world will meet next month in a secret conclave to elect the next pope, following the death of Pope Francis. The closed-door gathering is set to begin on May 7 inside the Sistine Chapel and will include around 135 cardinals. The election process, steeped in centuries-old tradition, comes after Pope Francis died on Easter Monday. His funeral was held on 26 April. There is no official timescale for how long the conclave may last, though the previous two papal elections—in 2005 and 2013—were both concluded within two days. Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936, to Italian immigrant parents. He studied in Argentina and later in Germany before being ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1969. Over a decade into his papacy, he remained a figure of admiration and controversy. He sought to reform the Vatican’s bureaucracy, tackle corruption, and address some of the church’s most pressing challenges. The pope was admitted to a hospital in Rome in February with bronchitis, which developed into bilateral pneumonia. He was discharged after 38 days to continue his recovery at his Vatican residence.