Sistine Chapel to close ahead of conclave: Here’s how it’s preparing for gathering of cardinals
Millions visit the Sistine Chapel every year – making it the second most visited museum in the world – but it will now transform into a place for the secretive process to elect the successor to Pope Francis.

White smoke rises from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that Pope Francis had been elected in 2013. Pic: Reuters

File pic: AP
![Newly installed tables for next week's conclave stand under Michaelangelo's frescoes in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel April 16, 2005. [When Roman Catholic cardinals vote in the Vatican for a new pope next week, they will swear an oath before God in Latin and then cast ballots written in the Church's official language.]](https://i0.wp.com/www.nowworldview.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/skynews-sistine-chapel-michaelangelo_6899927.jpg?w=1170&ssl=1)
Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Pic: Reuters

Michelangelo's fresco La Creazione (The Creation). Pic: AP
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