With the cardinals locked away in the conclave—the word literally means “with a key”—a silence descends on the Sistine Chapel. There are no speeches. The most frequent words said, sometimes softly, are those of each cardinal as he casts his secret ballot, “I call as my witness Christ the Lord who will be my judge.” The formula is reinforced by reciting it before the immense “Last Judgment” of Michelangelo.
There is plenty of chatter outside, the attendant media reporting about what they think others are thinking. For the cardinals it is plausible that despite the spiritual burden of electing a new universal pastor, the period of silence is welcome in the conclave and perhaps afterward under a new pope.
