All mobile phone signals will be deactivated in the Vatican on Wednesday ahead of the highly secretive conclave to elect the next pope, Italian state media reported.
The Vatican also plans to use signal jammers around the Sistine Chapel to prevent electronic surveillance or communication outside the conclave that will see 133 cardinals vote on who will succeed Pope Francis and lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Phone signal will be cut off at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) on Wednesday, an hour and a half before the cardinals are scheduled to proceed to the Sistine Chapel to begin the papal conclave, Italian state broadcaster RAI reported on Monday.
All 133 cardinals who will vote to elect Francis’ successor have already arrived in Rome, the Vatican confirmed on Monday.
For centuries, the leader of the Catholic Church has been chosen in a highly secretive gathering known as “conclave,” meaning “with key” in Latin – a nod to how cardinals used to be locked in until a new pope was selected. Cardinals tasked with picking the next pontiff follow an elaborate process with roots in the Middle Ages.
The cardinals will have to give up their phones and all electronic devices starting Tuesday and will only get their devices back once the conclave has ended, a Vatican spokesman said.
The cardinals will all be shut in the Sistine Chapel and locked away from the outside world from Wednesday. All of the cardinals taking part in the conclave will be in complete isolation and will take a vow to observe “absolute and perpetual secrecy”.
The signal deactivation will not affect St Peter’s Square, where the public often gather, according to the spokesman. But security has been ramped up throughout St Peter’s Square, with checkpoints at the entrances and the deployment of metal detectors and anti-drone systems at the public space, according to news outlet Corriere della Sera.
The Sistine Chapel is placed under total lockdown during conclave to guarantee complete secrecy. In 2013, during the conclave that elected Francis, signal blockers were also installed to prevent any calls, texts, or internet access.
Even the electricians, plumbers and elevator operators who will keep the Vatican running during the conclave will commit themselves to secrecy.
“They all take an oath and will be in full-time service, staying overnight in the Vatican, without having contact with their families,” according to a statement from the Vatican City State Governorate.