The 115 cardinals from 42 countries Saturday will head to the Casa Santa Marta Hotel, where they will be housed throughout the conclave.
This will be an event in live on tv.
At 10 a.m. Monday, a Mass will be held. But the conclave itself will not begin until 4:30 p.m., when the cardinals go to the Sistine Chapel. They then will be sworn in, with each cardinal pronouncing his name and putting his hands on the Bible. Among the things they swear to is absolute secrecy.
Following the swearing-in, everyone not participating in the conclave is ordered to leave the chapel. At least one vote likely will take place Monday, but squeezing in two might be difficult.
If no one wins the two-thirds majority necessary to be elected pope in the first vote, the cardinals will return the following morning and the days thereafter, until a winner can be proclaimed.
A set timetable will be followed on the other days of the conclave.
At 7:30 a.m., a Mass will be held in the hotel.
At 9 a.m., the cardinals will be in the chapel.
Two votes will take place in the morning, and two in the afternoon, beginning at 4 p.m., he said.
After each vote, the ballots are burned in a stove at the Sistine Chapel with the smoke announcing whether a pope has been elected.
The morning smoke will probably appear about noon, with the afternoon smoke about 7 p.m.
In addition, bells will also be rung to announce that a pope has been elected -- a new signal decreed by John Paul II, who hoped to avoid the confusion at his election in 1978 when the smoke appeared gray.
If three days pass with no pope, cardinals will take a day of reflection and prayer before balloting resumes. If no one has the required majority after about 30 votes, a simple majority will suffice.
"Conclave" refers to a locked section of the Vatican where the cardinals remain until they have elected a new pope. The word conclave derives from Latin -- cum + clavis -- and means "locked with key."
