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MICHELANGELO MEETS JAMES BOND
Bangkok Post
|May 11, 2025
HIGH-TECH IN SISTINE CHAPEL KEEPS CONCLAVE SECRET
Vatican technicians last week were securing arguably the world’s most beautiful bunker, making sure that what happened in the Sistine Chapel stayed in the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo, meet James Bond.
On Wednesday afternoon, about 133 cardinals under the age of 80 filed into the chapel adorned with frescoes painted by the Renaissance master to enter a secret conclave to decide who will be the next Catholic pope.
They walked on a newly installed floor elevated to provide a seamless platform with the base of the altar, which is several steps higher than the rest of the chapel.
Just what is under that temporary floor, apart from wiring for electricity and sound systems, depends on which Vatican official one talks to.
It may, or may not, be the home to jamming devices. The devices may also be near the upper windows of the chapel, which is about 20m high.
This story is from the May 11, 2025 edition of Bangkok Post.
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