Catholic cardinals will sequester themselves Wednesday behind the Vatican’s medieval walls for the start of a conclave to elect the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, a successor to Pope Francis who died in April at the age of 88.
The 133 cardinals from 70 countries will be locked inside the Sistine Chapel, where they will vote in secret and silence, a process designed to be both contemplative and free from outside interference. They will surrender their cellphones and airwaves around the Vatican will be jammed to prevent them from all communications until they find a new leader for the 1.4 billion-member church.
