Why the Vatican will cut the phone signal ahead of the secret Conclave vote

Phone signal in the Vatican will be cut, and signal jammers are in place to prevent any potential leaks during the secretive Papal Conclave.

On Wednesday afternoon, 133 cardinals will file into the Sistine Chapel adorned with frescoes painted by the Renaissance master Michelangelo and have their movements and deliberations shielded from the outside world as they decide who will be the next Catholic pope.

The cardinals will also take a vow of secrecy before beginning deliberations, following a similar vow taken by the 100-odd support staff including cooks and clerics on Monday. The punishment for breaking the oath is excommunication.

But the Vatican has taken other measures to ensure no news of the deliberations inside the chapel leak out before the white smoke signal rises over the Sistine Chapel roof.

On Monday, the office of the governor of Vatican City said that cellphone towers in the world's smallest sovereign state will be deactivated at 3pm (2pm UK time) on Wednesday.

“The signal will be restored after the announcement of the election of the supreme pontiff,” the governorate said in a statement.

Vatican technicians have prepared for the conclave by transforming the Sistine Chapel into a high-security bunker, installing a new raised floor to create a level platform with the altar, which is several steps higher than the rest of the chapel, to facilitate the cardinals' procession.

Just what may be under that temporary floor, apart from wiring for electricity and sound systems, depends on which Vatican official one talks to.

It may, or may not, be the home to jamming devices. The devices may also be near the upper windows of the chapel, which is about 68 feet (20.1m) high.

Officials have at times contradicted each other. The details, after all, are supposed to be a secret, maybe even to them.

Other security measures to make sure no one is eavesdropping or trying to get information out reportedly include film on the window to block cameras on drones and special tiles to block signals from cellphones, which are banned anyway.

At the last conclave in 2013, it was widely reported that a Faraday cage had been installed. Such devices can enhance communications security by shielding against electromagnetic fields.

The 108-acre city-state, however, is surrounded by Rome, and it was not clear if the Vatican was taking any action to block connections to phone towers just outside its walls.

The cardinals will be voting in the chapel up to four times a day. Vatican workers last week hoisted a chimney onto the chapel, which will be used for burning the ballots.

Black smoke will tell the outside world no decision has been made, white will announce that the 267th pope has been elected.

Protected ‘at all times’

Cardinals will be billeted in the Santa Marta residence, a hotel with about 130 rooms, and an adjacent older residence.

The main Santa Marta residence was cleared of its guests and long-term residents last week so security personnel could electronically sweep the area.

Its main door has been closed, and a sign has been put up telling cardinals to use a side entrance on the left, according to a recent guest who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Wi-Fi signals inside the residence were significantly weaker than normal on Monday, the person said.

Another source, a former Vatican official, said the city-state has its own systems to detect drones and receives regular assistance from Italy.

Vatican gendarmes and plainclothes Swiss Guards will escort buses that will take cardinals between the residence and the chapel. If they wish, the prelates will be allowed to walk the short distance, going around the back of St Peter's Basilica.

"A protective envelope will be created around the cardinals at all times," one source familiar with some of the security procedures said. "If they do decide to walk in the gardens or take a smoke outside, no one will be able to get close to them."

Aides, including priests, cooks, cleaners, drivers and other attendants have already taken an oath "to observe absolute and perpetual secrecy" about whatever they may see or hear.

The penalty for not keeping the secret until death: automatic excommunication from the Church.