VATICAN CITY (AP) — Catholic cardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican on Wednesday for the start of the conclave, the centuries-old secret voting ritual to elect a new pope to follow Pope Francis, who died April 21. The 133 cardinals are taking part in the most geographically diverse conclave in the faith’s 2,000-year history. Their cellphones are surrendered and airwaves around the Vatican are jammed to prevent all communications until they find a new leader for the 1.4 billion-member church.
German cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller walks in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Cardinals, with white mitre hats, attend a final Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, before the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinals, in red beretta hats, attend a final Mass celebrated by cardinals inside St. Peter’s Basilica, before the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A woman shelters against the rain outside St. Peter’s Basilica, background, in Rome, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, on the day cardinals sequester themselves at the Vatican for the start of a conclave to elect the 267th Roman pontiff, a successor to Pope Francis. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Faithful capture images with their smartphones of cardinals during a final Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica before the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A view of the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A faithful arrives in St. Peter’s Square for the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Nuns enter an ice cream coffee bar near the Vatican, in Rome, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, on the day cardinals sequester themselves at the Vatican for the start of a conclave to elect the 267th Roman pontiff, a successor to Pope Francis. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Activists from the Women’s Ordination Conference release pink smoke to call for full equality for women in the Catholic Church on the first day of the conclave to elect the 267th pope, in Rome, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Faithful kneel during a final Mass celebrated by cardinals inside St. Peter’s Basilica, before the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi walks through the St. Anna gate, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
