Vatican chimney installed ahead of papal conclave

Vatican City: Five days before cardinals gather for the conclave, firefighters on Friday installed the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel which will emit...

Vatican City: Five days before cardinals gather for the conclave, firefighters on Friday installed the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel which will emit white smoke to signal the election of a new pope.

Some 133 Catholic cardinals will gather below Michelangelo's famed frescoes in the 15th-century chapel, situated inside the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, to elect a successor to Pope Francis following his death on April 21.

Held behind locked doors, the conclave will signal to the world the outcome by burning ballots in a special stove, with the chimney emitting black smoke if no one has been elected, or white smoke if there is a new pope.

Cardinals from around the world have been called back to Rome following the death of Francis, an energetic reformer from Argentina who led the Catholic Church for 12 years.