Cardinals meet to elect Pope Francis’ successor—will the Church continue his inclusive legacy or return to a more conservative path?

The conclave to elect a new Catholic pope will start behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday (May 7) afternoon, with all cardinals under the age of 80 able to vote on who should be the next leader of the 1.

Cardinals wrapped up their pre-conclave meetings Tuesday, trying to identify a possible new pope who could follow Pope Francis and make the 2,000-year-old Catholic Church credible and relevant

Workers and clerics assisting the dozens of Catholic cardinals set to gather Wednesday to begin voting on the next pope had to swear to never reveal anything about the proceedings or else risk the Church’s gravest punishment: religious banishment. The employees took their oaths in the Papal Chapel.

Cleaners and cooks. Doctors and nurses. Even drivers and elevator operators. All the support staff for the cardinals who will elect the successor to Pope Francis are taking an oath of secrecy on Monday ahead of the conclave that's starting on Wednesday.

Cooks and cleaners as well as maintenance and medical staff joined members of the Vatican's clergy on Monday (May 5) to take an oath of secrecy ahead of the upcoming papal conclave. Could cells grow food for astronauts on long missions in space?

Among the roughly 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, many are keenly anticipating the upcoming Vatican conclave at which members of the College of Cardinals will elect a successor to Pope Francis.

The same goes for every person inside the Vatican during the conclave: from the two doctors on hand for any emergency, to the dining-room staff who feed the cardinals. All vow to observe "absolute and perpetual secrecy".