CONCLAVE: Papal Conclave to select next Pope begins

A morning Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica is now over, allowing the cardinals who will elect the next pope to return to their residences for a few hours ahead of the conclave.

AP reports, The Vatican has said that later in the afternoon, all communications around the Vatican will be jammed as the cardinals prepare to withdraw from the outside world for their secret and sacred task ahead.

Back in the 13th century, it took almost three years — 1,006 days to be exact — to choose Pope Clement IV’s successor, making it the longest conclave in the Catholic Church’s history.

This time around, it’s reasonable to assume the conclave will be much, much shorter.

While cardinals this week said they expected a short conclave, it will likely take at least a few rounds of voting. For most of the past century, it has taken between three and eight ballots to find a pope. John Paul I — the pope who reigned for 33 days — was elected on the third ballot in 1978. His successor, John Paul II needed eight. Francis was elected on the fifth in 2013.

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