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The Sistine Chapel is the second most visited museum in the world, but until a new pope is announced, it is a site cloaked in secrecy.

The historic Vatican chapel's doors are now open for the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church.

Plenty of work had to be carried out in advance of the conclave's arrival, from modern security measures to the installation of a chimney and stove, which is vital for this historic ritual.

Chapel made a no-phone zone

The ancient meeting of the cardinal electors has always operated in absolute secrecy; votes must be completely anonymous and the new pope must only be announced through the chapel's white or black smoke system - something which will be covered later.

Whereas in the past, keeping the 133 cardinals on the enclosed Vatican grounds and locking the Sistine Chapel's thick wooden doors may have been enough to prevent information leaks, the conclave faces new challenges in the modern era.

The church has therefore swept the chapel for hidden cameras, recording equipment and bugs, and covered its windows to keep the outside world away and to stop drones from spying.

Lead seals have also been placed on 80 doors in and around the conclave site to stop people from going in and out.

But its biggest contemporary challenge, perhaps, is mobile phones.

Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni initially said cardinals would be asked to leave their mobiles at Santa Marta, their Vatican residence, before they entered the Sistine Chapel, but that they would not be confiscated.

But he said in a later briefing, they would need to hand their phones over at Santa Marta and would only get them back at the end of the conclave.

He suggested this was about more than just security measures, saying it was a "process united also with prayer, with meditation, with thought about who the person could be whom the Lord has identified as the pope of Rome".

Even if a phone were smuggled onto the premises, it would be of little use because the Vatican plans to use signal jamming around the Sistine Chapel and the nearby residences to prevent electronic surveillance or communication outside the conclave, with the Vatican gendarmes overseeing the security measures.

While the Vatican has updated its security measures regarding secrecy, it has not abandoned its ancient methods.

It still made the roughly 100 Vatican staff who will be catering for the conclave - including cleaners, cooks and medical staff - take an oath of secrecy on Monday.

The cardinals also swear themselves to secrecy the day before the conclave begins, knowing that any contact with the outside world is forbidden.

The oath has become even more stringent in recent years thanks to amendments by Pope Benedict XVI before his resignation in 2013, who made it clear that anyone who reveals what went on inside the conclave faces automatic excommunication - where they are completely excluded from the church.

The oath has also been modernised to include the line: "I likewise promise to refrain from using any audio or video equipment capable of recording anything which takes place during the period of the election within Vatican City, and in particular anything which in any way, directly or indirectly, is related to the process of the election itself."

What work has been carried out?

The main task is the installation of the chimney that will signal the election of a new pope.

Vatican firefighters took to the roof of the Sistine Chapel days before the conclave started to begin the installation, a key moment in the preparation.

It is from the chimney that smoke will billow to signal to the world whether a round of voting has been decisive or not; black smoke for no majority, and white smoke for the confirmation of a new pope.

But of course, there's no smoke without fire, and that's why Vatican workers have also installed the simple stove on which ballots are burned to send the fumes up above the chapel.

The cards and the tally sheets used in the vote are placed in the stove and burned with an additive to produce either the black or white smoke, depending on whether or not a decision has been made.

Catholics traditionally gather in St Peter's Square to watch for the smoke above the chapel.

What does it mean for tourists?

Many visitors to the surrounding city of Rome plan time to view the famous chapel at Vatican City - the world's smallest independent state - with a high number of trips scheduled well in advance.

But for those heading there now, they will be unable to visit.

"Notice is hereby given that the Sistine Chapel will be closed to the public from Monday 28 April 2025 for the requirements of the Conclave," reads a statement on the Vatican Museums' website.

Nearly seven million people are said to have visited the chapel in 2023, with many travelling across the world to view the paintings and structure.

But viewings will not be possible until after the election of a new pope.

Tours of the archaeological area, the Necropolis of the Via Triumphalis, and the Vatican Gardens have also been suspended.

When was the chapel first used for a conclave?

This was after the death of Pope Sixtus IV in 1484, who had been the pontiff since 1471 and after whom the building takes its name.

A number of conclaves have been held elsewhere, including several in the 19th century at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, which is formerly a summer palace for the popes and currently the official residence of the Italian president.

The Sistine Chapel has been the site of all conclaves since 1878.

What art and detail can be seen at the chapel?

The cardinals will be surrounded by the great beauty of the frescoes painted by Michelangelo and other renowned Renaissance artists.

The most recognisable is Michelangelo's Creation Of Adam, showing God's outstretched hand imparting the divine spark of life to the first man.

Pope Sixtus IV was an art patron who oversaw the construction and restoration of the main papal chapel - originally called the Cappella Magna - in the 15th century.

But it was a later pontiff, Julius II, who commissioned the works by Michelangelo.

The Italian sculptor and painter created the ceiling art depicting scenes from Genesis from 1508 and 1512, and then later returned to paint the Last Judgement on one of the walls before it was unveiled in 1541.

The side walls are decorated by other artists, including Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio.

German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once remarked: "Without having seen the Sistine Chapel, one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving."

Read more:
Who could be the next pope?
How does conclave work?
How accurate is the film Conclave?

The chapel's dimensions and thick doors

The cardinals will spend time electing a new pope in a chapel which is 40m (131ft) long, 13m (43ft) wide and 21m (69ft) high.

It is lit on either side by high windows.

Built from 1473 to 1481, the chapel has thick double doors that will ensure the cardinals are not interrupted.

The surroundings are as much a key part of the secretive process aimed at shielding the vote from external interference.