Behind-the-scenes in the Sistine Chapel

(Vatican Radio) The Vatican Press Office organized an exclusive behind-the-scenes visit to the Sistine Chapel on Saturday morning, for accredited journalists only. It was a unique opportunity to see, first-hand, how works are progressing in preparation for the conclave.

The most difficult thing about the visit to the Sistine Chapel was keeping one’s eye on the job: resisting the temptation to look upward and become distracted by the beauty of Michelangelo’s ceiling and the brilliance of his Last Judgement. That’s because all the modifications to the Chapel, in preparation for the conclave, are being done at ground level. The floor itself has been raised by several feet so that it is now uniform and at the same height as the altar. A long wooden ramp leads up from the original marble floor level so older Cardinals will not have to negotiate any steps.

Then there’s the famous stove or, rather, stoves – because there are two of them (and they are a lot bigger than one might expect). The one used to burn the ballots is made out of cast-iron and has been used for every conclave since 1939. That was the one that elected Pope Pius XII - and there have been five conclaves since then. The second stove was added in 2005 in order to help identify the colour of the smoke from the outside. In fact, it’s not really a stove at all, but more like an electronic fumigating device that produces smoke which is either inky black (in the case of an inconclusive vote) or snowy white – heralding the announcement of the “habemus papam”.

A copper duct carries the smoke up and out of the Chapel and through the chimney which is visible from outside on the roof. The duct is held in place by steel tubular scaffolding that goes all the way up from floor to ceiling, a height of some 20 meters. It keeps a safe distance away from the precious frescoes, of course, and – curiously – has been decorated with gold paint…probably to help it blend in better with its prestigious surroundings.

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Listen to the full report by Seàn-Patrick Lovett, Head of Vatican Radio’s English Program: