Vatican City – For days, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church have been slipping beyond the Vatican’s walls, gathering for discreet dinners at old trattorias and secretive sessions at private living rooms across Rome. Tasked with electing the new leader of 1.4 billion Catholics, the red-hatted princes of the Church have been engaged in feverish discussions as they seek to identify the ideal successor to Pope Francis, who died last month.
The talks ground to a halt at 4:30pm (14:30 GMT) on Wednesday when the 133 cardinals aged under 80 marched in a solemn procession to the sound of prayers to enter the Sistine Chapel for the conclave.
