Some five hours after the opening Mass, the cardinals were to process into the Sistine Chapel, swear an oath to uphold the conclave rules, listen to a final reflection and—if they chose to do so—conduct the first ballot.

The popular website, where people are randomly assigned a cardinal to pray for, has been revived for the 2025 conclave.

Gov. Bob Ferguson signed legislation that would require clergy to report child abuse or neglect on May 2.

In Pope John Paul II’s rules for the conclave, excommunication was always a possibility, but Pope Benedict XVI made it explicit, saying they must observe “absolute and perpetual secrecy.”

“He owes an apology,” Bishop Thomas Paprocki said after President Trump posted an image that appeared to be created by A.I. depicting himself as pope.

“We depend on the press to know who the candidates are, because names are not something we really talk about in there—perhaps only in small groups. This is not a parliament.”