Extract from ABC News
Black smoke rises from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday evening. (Reuters: Hannah McKay)
In short:
The process to select a new pope, known as conclave, began in Vatican City on Wednesday, local time.
More than 130 cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel to vote, although a decision on who'll be the next man to lead the Catholic Church hasn't yet been made.
What's next?
Up to four ballots will be conducted on Thursday, and on subsequent days, until a candidate receives a two-thirds majority, plus one.
Clues as to the next pope's identity differ depending on who you talk to around the Vatican, but there's one thing people can agree on here: it was never going to be decided on Wednesday.
The secretive process of picking a new pontiff is formally under way, with 133 cardinals charged with making a final selection now sequestered inside the Catholic Church's headquarters.
They entered the so-called conclave about 10am local time Wednesday (6pm AEST), and 11 hours later, black smoke began rising from the temporary chimney installed in the roof of the Sistine Chapel.
It's the sign voting has finished for the day, and that there'd been no winner yet.
Andrea Gagliarducci said the first vote would likely reveal who the key players in the conclave were. (ABC News: Riley Stuart)
Andrea Gagliarducci, a journalist for the Catholic News Agency, told the ABC getting things wrapped up on Wednesday was never going to happen.
To be successful, a candidate must receive a two-thirds majority, plus one.
"In that first ballot some cardinals might get 30 or 40 votes and then over dinner discussions can continue," he said.
For cardinals, Wednesday began with a morning mass before they entered the chapel and held a single ballot late in the afternoon. The doors were eventually shut at 6pm.
From Thursday, they'll vote up to four times per day until a candidate is chosen.
Smoke will be released periodically to let the outside world know how things are progressing.
When the plumes are white, it means a decision has been made. Black indicates deliberations are ongoing.
When a new pope is chosen, they'll make their first public appearance on this balcony overlooking St Peter's Square. (ABC News: Riley Stuart)
To ensure no information is leaked from the conclave, church leaders have confiscated the cardinals's devices and made other Vatican staff who'll come into contact with them during the next few days swear an oath of secrecy.
Mobile phone reception inside the city state has also been temporarily blocked.
While the process of picking a new pontiff can be famously protracted -- in the 13th century, it took cardinals almost three years to select Pope Gregory X -- analysts don't expect this decision to take more than a few days.
"We in the Catholic Church understand the power of a theatrical production," said Father Patrick Briscoe, the editor of US-based magazine Our Sunday Visitor.
"Nobody does it better than we do."
Pope Francis, the most recent man to hold the role, was elected just one day after the 2013 conclave began. His predecessor, Pope Benedict, was elected after only four ballots.
Cardinals began their day with a mass in St Peter's Basilica before entering the Sistine Chapel. (Reuters: Murad Sezer)
Several names have been thrown around as potential successors to Pope Francis, who died on April 21.
Among those seen as likely to carry on the late leader's more progressive direction for the church are Italian cardinals Matteo Zuppi and Pietro Parolin, as well as Luis Tagle, from the Philippines, who's made a name for himself with singing and dancing videos on social media.
Péter Erdő, from Hungary, is considered among the more conservative options, while there's also a push among some cardinals to elect the church's first African pope.
If that was to happen, Robert Sarah, a hardliner from Guinea who was critical of Pope Francis, is among the favourites.
Some progressives within the church fear conservative electors could throw their support behind an African candidate under the guise of taking the church forward.
"I can think of some African cardinals -- they make me shudder," Michael Czerny, a liberal cardinal from Canada, told the New York Times last week, adding, "it's so, so, so stupid to say things like Africa's time has come".
The Sistine Chapel, with its famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo, has been prepared for the conlcave. (Supplied: Vatican Media)
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