The Vatican announced on Monday that it will deactivate mobile phone signals within the city-state during the upcoming conclave to elect a new pope. However, this measure will not extend to St Peter’s Square.
The presidency of the Governorate of the Vatican City State stated that “starting from 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) on May 7, all the transmission systems of the telecommunications signal for mobile telephones present in the territory of the Vatican City State… will be deactivated.”
“The signal will be restored after the announcement of the election of the supreme pontiff,” the statement continued.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni clarified that the signal deactivation will not affect St Peter’s Square, where thousands of faithful are expected to gather in front of St Peter’s Basilica to await the announcement of a successor to Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21.
A total of 133 cardinals from around the world will convene in the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday to commence voting for the new leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide.
The election process is conducted in complete secrecy, and Bruni noted that cardinals will be required to leave their mobile phones behind when entering the conclave.
AFP
