Firefighters in the Vatican have installed the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, which will be used during the conclave that begins on May 7, an AFP reporter said.

The cardinals vote secretly in the chapel for a new pope and reveal the result to the waiting world by burning the ballots in a special stove, with the chimney emitting black smoke if no one has been elected or white smoke if there is a new pope.

Cardinals from around the world were called back to Rome after the death of Pope Francis, the Argentine who led the Catholic Church for 12 years until his death on April 21 at the age of 88.

The 133 cardinals, who are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to elect his successor, will gather on May 7 to begin a secret ballot that is expected to last several days.

On the first day, they vote once, and on the following days, they hold two votes in the morning and afternoon.

If a candidate receives the two-thirds of the votes required to win – at least 89 votes – the ballots are burned in a special oven with chemicals added to emit white smoke.

If no candidate receives enough votes during the first vote in the morning, the cardinals proceed to a second vote, and only then are the ballots burned.

If no pope is elected, no chemicals are added and the smoke coming out of the chimney is black.

The afternoon session follows the same procedure – if a pope is elected in the first vote, there will be white smoke, but if not, the cardinals will proceed to a second vote and only then will the ballots be burned. |BGNES