06 May 2025 , 09:50
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Transmission will be deactivated from 3pm on 7 May and restored after announcement of new pontiff
The Vatican has announced that it will cut the phone signal within the tiny city state during the conclave to elect a new pope – but this would not affect St Peter’s Square.
The office of the presidency of the Governorate of the Vatican City State said that “all the transmission systems of the telecommunications signal for mobile telephones present in the territory of the Vatican City State … will be deactivated” from 3pm on 7 May.
“The signal will be restored after the announcement of the election of the supreme pontiff,” it said in a statement.
But the deactivation will not cover St Peter’s Square, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told reporters.
Thousands of faithful are expected to gather in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica to await the announcement of a successor to Pope Francis, who died on 21 April.
A total of 133 cardinals from across the globe will gather in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Wednesday to begin voting for a new head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
The election is carried out in utmost secrecy and the cardinals will be required to leave their mobile phones behind when they enter the conclave, Bruni said.
Politics Editor