Cardinals will take part in a Mass at St Peter's Basilica this morning and will later walk to the Sistine Chapel to cast their votes under Michelangelo's frescoes. Once they enter the chapel, they will have no communication with the outside world until a new pope is elected.

In a ritual dating back to medieval times, the cardinals will file into the Vatican's frescoed Sistine Chapel and start their secret conclave for a successor to Pope Francis.