Papal Conclave Begins -- Live Reports And A News Roundup



'Pray For The Cardinals To Elect The Right Pope': Vatican Holds Last Mass Before Papal Election Which Could Deliver Result By 8pm Tonight -- Daily Mail

* Conclave to get under way in Sistine Chapel as church faces upheaval and uncertainty not seen in decades
* Catholics rudderless as there is no front-runner and no sense a single man has what it takes to fix problems
* Cardinals offer wildly different views over next pontiff and how close they were to a decision on eve of vote
* World's 1.2billion Catholics still in turmoil after Benedict XVI's shock resignation last month for health reasons
* 115 cardinals who are eligible to vote started the day with a mass in St Peter's Basilica at 10am local time
* They will enter Sistine Chapel at 4.30pm, intoning Gregorian chant imploring saints to help guide their voting
* They will then lock themselves inside until one candidate receives at least 77 votes required for victory

Cardinals heard a final appeal for unity today before the conclave to elect the next pope as they celebrated Mass with the Catholic Church facing more upheaval and uncertainty than it has seen in decades.

As a Gregorian chant filled St Peter's Basilica, the 115 cardinal electors filed in wearing bright red vestments, many looking grim as if the burden of the imminent vote was weighing on them.

A few hundred people braved thunderstorms and pouring rain to watch the Mass on giant TV screens in St Peter's Square. A handful knelt in prayer, eyes clenched and hands clasped.

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