In a process dating to medieval times, the cardinals will file into the Vatican's frescoed Sistine Chapel after a public Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and start their secret conclave for a successor to Pope Francis, who died last month.
There will be only one ballot on Wednesday. Thereafter, the cardinals can vote as many as four times a day. Black smoke from a chimney on the roof of the chapel will mark an inconclusive vote, while white smoke and the peeling of bells will signal that the 1.4-billion member church has a new leader.
Cardinals in recent days have offered different assessments of what they are looking for in the next pontiff.
A record 133 cardinals from 70 countries will enter the Sistine Chapel, up from 115 from 48 nations in the last conclave in 2013 -- growth that reflects Francis' efforts to extend the reach of the Church to far-flung regions with few Catholics.
No eavesdropping
Among other potential candidates are France's Jean-Marc Aveline, Hungary's Peter Erdo, American Robert Prevost and Italy's Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
As in medieval times, the cardinals will be banned from communicating with outsiders during the conclave, and the Vatican has taken high-tech measures to ensure secrecy, including jamming devices to prevent any eavesdropping.
The cardinals will be looking to wrap things up quickly again this time to avoid giving the impression that they are divided or that the Church is adrift.
Among their considerations will be whether they should seek a pope from the global south where congregations are growing, as they did in 2013 with the Argentinian Francis, hand back the reins to Europe or even pick a first U.S. pope.
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