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Sistine Chapel Readied for Papal Vote

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“Final preparations were underway Saturday in Michelangelo’s splendid Sistine Chapel for the conclave of prelates who will elect a new pope to head the Roman Catholic Church,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“Journalists were given a look inside the famed chapel where the red-hatted cardinals, the ‘princes’ of the church, will begin their secret proceedings Tuesday to try to settle on a new leader from within their ranks.”

“At the back of the frescoed interior sat the pair of stoves that will be the 115 cardinals’ only form of communication with the outside world. Ballots will be burned in one stove and special coloring chemicals in the other, their fumes mixing in a combined duct to create black smoke to signal an inconclusive vote and white puffs to show a new pope has been elected.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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