The Sistine Chapel has been closed as Vatican City prepares for the gathering of cardinals who will vote to elect a new pope following the death of Pope Francis on April 21st. The closure is part of a wider shutdown of the Vatican Museums, which have not announced when they will reopen. The papal election, known as the conclave, is set to begin on May 7th, following informal meetings among cardinals that began shortly after Francis’s funeral on April 26th.
The conclave invites some 135 members of the College of Cardinals—those under the age of 80 are eligible to vote—to the Vatican City. The election has no fixed duration. The last conclave, which elected Pope Francis in 2013, concluded in under 27 hours. The Sistine Chapel has served as the site of the conclave since 1492.
The Sistine Chapel is one of the Vatican’s most visited landmarks, featuring some of Michelangelo’s most renowned frescoes. The ceiling, completed between 1508 and 1512 during the reign of Pope Julius II, depicts scenes from the Old Testament, including The Creation of Adam and The Separation of Light from Darkness. The chapel itself was commissioned by Julius’s uncle, Pope Sixtus IV, who the chapel is named after.
Concurrently, 25 drawings by Michelangelo for the Sistine Chapel are on display in the United States at the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary. These works are on view until May 28th as part of an exhibition titled “Michelangelo: The Genesis of the Sistine.”
The Vatican Museums, which house a vast collection of classical and Renaissance works, are among the most visited museums in the world. Highlights include works by Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, and ancient Roman sculptures, among others. The museums are also home to several works by modern artists, such as Paul Gauguin and Pablo Picasso. Their closure coincides with the traditional nine-day mourning period following the death of a pope.
The pope serves as the proprietor of the museums and has ultimate authority over their administration. The closure of the Sistine Chapel and the broader museum complex allows the Vatican to secure the site for the secretive voting process.
Interest in the current conclave process has been amplified by Conclave (2024), a fictional drama starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci. The film, which portrays the inner workings of an election of a new pope, has led to widespread interest in the process behind the conclave.
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