This May, 135 cardinal-electors of the Catholic Church, coming from all corners of the world, will gather in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican to elect a new Pope, an election process known as the Papal Conclave, which melds medieval ritual with 21st-century technology. To preserve the conclave’s strict secrecy, cardinals swear an oath of silence and are cut off from all outside contact during the election. Phones are confiscated, and newspapers, messages, and media are banned.
Moreover, from advanced security sweeps and signal-jamming “electronic bunkers” to chemically calibrated smoke signals and encrypted backend logistics, the Vatican has embraced a suite of modern tools designed to safeguard secrecy, ensure procedural integrity, and manage one of the world’s most closely watched events.
Millenary ritual meets cutting-edge tech
Though the conclave’s framework dates back to 1271, when locking cardinals behind closed doors curtailed external influence, today’s Vatican augments this with counter-espionage countermeasures that would rival any modern summit venue. Every room and corridor is swept for unauthorized electronics, with inspectors targeting miniature microphones and hidden cameras that could leak deliberations.
Windows are also secured by overlaying them with opaque privacy film to block not only prying eyes but also high-resolution satellite imaging and drone surveillance. Within the Domus Sanctae Marthae or St. Martha’s house (the cardinals’ residence) and the Sistine Chapel itself, radio-frequency jammers saturate the spectrum, preventing any Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or mobile communication from breaching the conclave walls.
Entrants undergo rigorous device inspections, and the Vatican’s small territory becomes, for the duration, an “electronic bunker” secure against any kind of covert transmissions. Moreover, encrypted command centres monitor the 650-camera network that surrounds the site, while endpoint-detection systems guard against sophisticated cyber-intrusion attempts, such as the 2020 attack by Chinese hacker group RedDelta.
The smoke signal
Atop the restored Sistine Chapel chimney, installed by Vatican firefighters just days before the conclave, lies perhaps the most iconic tech of all: an inner stove engineered to burn ballots with precise chemical additives, with the tradition dating to 1903. Black smoke (no decision) or white smoke (pope elected) results from controlled combustion, optimised to avoid past ambiguities caused by damp or dry straw. Chemical formulations, which include potassium chlorate, lactose, and chloroform resin, are calibrated to ensure uniform plume density and colour visibility across St. Peter’s Square.
Cyber-defenses against disinformation
To counter any misinformation threats, the Vatican Gendarmerie employs social-media monitoring and rapid-response teams to flag and counteract hoaxes aimed at undermining conclave credibility. Analysts track trending narratives worldwide, coordinating with accredited press offices to issue timely corrections and preserve the election’s solemnity.
Furthermore, while no electronic devices are permitted inside, a robust media infrastructure surrounds the Vatican. Accredited journalists access high-bandwidth press zones equipped with live streaming studios and satellite links, delivering real-time updates on black or white smoke signals to global audiences. Large-screen displays in St. Peter’s Square, in front of the St. Peter’s Basilica, and live-feed commentary channels ensure millions can follow each ballot’s outcome without breaching conclave secrecy.
One element that remains untouched by modern technology is the paper ballot, still filled out by hand, folded in silence, and cast beneath the gaze of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment.
