Armoured Conclave: mobile phones banned, signal interrupted throughout the Vatican

Maximum secrecy for the election of the new Pope. Stop to mobile phones and radio transmissions: the ‘silent mode’ is triggered throughout the Vatican territory

In the Conclave of 2025 there will be no room for technology. The cardinals’ mobile phones will remain at Casa Santa Marta until the end of the voting. This was confirmed by the director of the Vatican Press Office Matteo Bruni: ‘They will only return to their possession at the end of the Conclave’. A measure that goes hand in hand with the total blocking of the telephone and radio signal, imposed on the entire territory of Vatican City, 0.4 km² in the heart of Rome.

The Civil Defence, together with the network operators, has arranged for the temporary deactivation of the coverage inside St. Peter’s. Department head Fabio Ciciliano explained: ‘It is to ensure that the cardinals can perform their function without interference. But we have also ensured the continuity of security outside’.

Sistine Chapel isolated: cameras, sensors and microphones disabled
In addition to the signal, all electronic devices inside the Sistine Chapel, where the election is taking place, have also been switched off. According to reports from the Argentinean portal Infobae, Vatican technicians have deactivated cameras, sensors and any recording instruments. Surveillance will only be physical. All personnel present – about a hundred people including assistants, doctors, electricians and liturgical staff – have sworn absolute discretion.

The motto ‘extra omnes’, which marks the official start of the Conclave, now takes on a technological value: it is equivalent to the activation of a ‘master switch’ to turn off all communication with the outside world.

Excommunication for those who violate secrecy
The obligation of secrecy is not only a moral rule: it is a canonical norm with serious sanctions. The provisions of John Paul II, updated by Benedict XVI, provide for automatic excommunication for anyone who reveals information about the Conclave without authorisation from the new pontiff.

The formula of the oath speaks clearly: ‘I promise and swear to observe absolute and perpetual secrecy on all matters connected with the voting and the scrutiny of the election of the Supreme Pontiff,’ the text reads.

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