their residence at casa santa maria and escorted to the sistine chapel. then they ll begin their processional and one hour later they ll be locked in to begin voting. around 2:00 p.m. eastern all eyes will be on the top chimney atop the sistine chapel for signs of smoke signaling the cardinals have voted. they ll recite the invest per prayers and return to santa maria santa marta for dinner. let s get you to rome. chris cuomo is covering this historic event for us. good morning. hey, soledad. how are you? the italian paper said it in one line, it is time to choose. the mass just ended. the last for these cardinals before they enter the conclave. there are 150 cardinals. not just the 150 that will vote. they were joined by some 6500 normal people who they call the
a camera captures a police officer pulling an unconscious man from a burning car. amazing pictures. that really is incredible. welcome back to early start, everyone. i m john berman. and i m zoraida sambolin. it is tuesday morning, just about 30 minutes past the hour. welcome back to cnn s special live coverage of the selection of the next pope. in about six hours, 115 cardinals from every corner of the earth will take an oath of secrecy, and then all eyes will be on the chimney atop the sistine chapel, as they begin voting for the next spiritual leader of the world s 1.2 billion catholics. so, right now, the cardinals are holding a special mass at the vatican for the election of the holy father. at 10:45 eastern this morning, those cardinals that you re seeing are scheduled to leave their residence at casa santa marta and head to the pauline chapel. 45 minutes later, they will enter the sistine chapel and the pope watch officially begins.
post poll, an overwhelming number of american catholics disapprove of the church s handling of the sex abuse scandals. in addition to criticism shared worldwide of the secretive and allegedly corrupt vatican banking system. what is it the church needs? where does the church need to go? reporter: one thing is certain, the race is wide open with all eyes on that chimney. josh elliott, abc news, vatican city. now, as we said, the conclave is carried out in total secrecy. and the 90 or so support staff in fact took a solemn oath yesterday to uphold that tradition. even the head of the swiss guards and the vatican police were sworn not to reveal what goes on inside that chapel. here is what we do know about how the ancient process works. the voting may begin right away. up to four times a day until two-thirds of the cardinals agree on a name. they write their choices on paper ballots which are eventually burned. black smoke from the burned ballot papers means no pope. white smoke mea
will file into the sistine chapel, each hand writing the name of one man they believe is the best possible person to lead the roman catholic church. i think it is always on the top of your mind that i will do something that will not just affect my life but will affect lives all over the world. reporter: once the ballots are counted they will be burned into the cast iron stove. smoke will pour from the chimney atop the sistine chapel. white smoke if a pope has been chosen. black smoke if no one gets two-thirds of the vote, carrying the papal election onto a second day. the second time participating in a conclave for 50 cardinals all too familiar with the kind of butterflies being felt as they prepare to make history. choosing the man who will walk out onto this balcony above st. peter s square to greet the world as the new pope. all of this, a sense of excitement, a sense of anxiety
history is now just four days away from being made at the vatican. they set a date, march 12th to open the conclave in which 115 roman catholic cardinals will elect the next pope. they ll make history, especially so this time for the first time in 598 years, the previous pontiff will be alive to see it. there s another element, though, in the mix. controversy over the many sex abuse scandals rocking the church and some of the 115 cardinals. earlier tonight, i spoke with the national director of s.n.a.p., survivors network for those abused by priests, also john allen, senior vatican respondent. walk us through the process. the sistine chapel has been transformed for this conclave. what has to happen before tuesday? two things, logistical things that have to be taken care of for example, the chimney atop the sistine chapel has to be