When the cardinals meet for the conclave, they gather in the Sistine Chapel. All cardinal electors must swear an oath of secrecy and vote by secret ballot. A two-thirds majority is needed to elect a new pope, and campaigning is part of the process, though it should not appear so.

"The Slum Pope has died. Long live the pope of the poor, the marginalised, the disenfranchised," the world cried. Now that Pope Francis' funeral is done, the Vatican—one of the world’s oldest continually operating organisations—prepares for its most sacred act of political theatre: the papal conclave.