The process to elect the Catholic Church's 267th pope is set to take place in Vatican City today.
On Wednesday evening, May 7, in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, 133 cardinals will gather to vote for the new catholic leader.
Cardinals scheduled for the conclave
Prior to the conclave, the crowd will first attend a mass in St Peter's Basilica.
The televised service will be led by Giovanni Battista Re, the Cardinal Dean who was also the celebrant of Pope Francis' funeral.
In the early afternoon, mobile signal within the territory of the Vatican will be deactivated to prevent anyone who is taking part in the conclave to contact the outside world.
At 16:15 [3: 15 p.m. BST], all cardinal electors will gather in the Pauline Chapel and will walk as a group to the Sistine Chapel.
Once inside the chapel, the cardinals will take the oath of secrecy after which the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations Diego Ravelli will announce "extra omnes"["everybody out"].
He is one of the three church staffs who are allowed to stay in the Chapel despite not being a cardinal elector and will have to leave the premises during the vote counting.
The announcement of "extra omnes" marks the start of the conclave.
First vote of the conclave
In the rare occurrence, if the new pope is elected with the first vote, a white smoke will be visible from St Peter's Basilica's right chimney.
Otherwise, the colour of the smoke will be black, indicating to the spectators gathered outside the church that the cardinals did not agree on a new pope with majority votes and the second voting will take place.
Austen Ivereigh, a Catholic writer calls the first ballot crucial, noting, "The cardinals who have more than 20 votes will be taken into consideration. In the first ballot the votes will be very scattered and the electors know they have to concentrate on the ones that have numbers."
As the cardinals will be engaged in praying, eating, and voting, the audience will be looking forward to a white smoke from the St Peter's Basilica.
