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<<< Firefighters have installed the top of the Sistine Chapel chimney that will signal to the world that a new pope has been elected .For such an important decision, the chimney is an awfully simple affair: a century-old cast iron stove where ballot papers are burned, with a copper pipe out the top that snakes up the Sistine's frescoed walls onto the chapel roof. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Cardinals gathered for their final day of talks Monday before the conclave to elect the next pope. Several cardinals were signed up to speak at the closed-door morning session, an indication that they still have plenty to discuss before sequestering themselves for the first vote.
There's no clear front-runner for a job most cardinals say they would never want, but a handful of names are circulating as top candidates to lead the 1.2 billion-strong church at a critical time in its history. The first puffs of smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney should emerge sometime around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday evening |
Above: The stoves where the ballots will be burned during the conclave, inside the Sistine Chapel.
Below, right, & above right-- more photos of the Sistene Chapel, as seen Saturday, during preparations for the Conclave Of Cardinals meet to select a successor to Pope Benedict XVI. (AP Photos/Alessandra Tarantino) |
 Various views of the Sistine Chapel, at the Vatican. |
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CBS's Steve Futterman in Rome
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