(Rome, ITA) - The conclave which will elect the next pope, Benedict XVI's successor, is finally under way.
The 115 cardinals who will make the choice are inside the Sistine Chapel and will stay locked in, sustained by simple meals cooked by nuns, until they have made a choice -- probably for a few days.
From Wednesday, smoke will emerge from the chimney twice a day, with ballots burnt after two rounds of voting in the morning and two rounds in the afternoon. This will usually be at around 1100 GMT and 1800 GMT.
All eyes will be on whether the twice-daily puff of smoke is black, indicating no pope has been elected, or white, indicating the election of a new pontiff.
Follow all of AFP's conclave coverage online -- and look out for a fresh live report from us when a new pope is chosen. LIVE REPORT ENDS.
1921 GMT: Plenty of spoof Twitter accounts are already sprouting up to honour the conclave, including @ConclaveChimney, which broke the news of this evening's result by tweeting: "Black Smoke No Pope".
1912 GMT: Some of the faithful are staying to soak up the atmosphere while others are making their way out of the square with calls of "see you tomorrow!"
"I'm disappointed, sure, but it was still a fantastic sensation to have some sort of sign from within the secret conclave," said sister Barbara, a nun from New York.
1854 GMT: St Peter's is emptying quickly after this evening's puff of smoke emerged from the Vatican chimney, with some of the faithful remaining to form prayer circles.
1852 GMT: Even though we don't have a new pope yet, some of the faithful are starting to get very excited.
Joseph, a priest from Sydney, Australia, tells Ella Ide that this evening's result "makes it even more exciting."
"The black smoke pouring out like that, it was like something out of 'Lord Of The Rings!' Brilliant!" he adds.
1844 GMT: AFP's Ella Ide reports cries of "Nooooooo!" from the huge crowd as they see the black smoke pouring out of the chimney.
1842 GMT: BLACK SMOKE FROM SISTINE CHAPEL -- NO POPE CHOSEN
1827 GMT: Rumours spread that the smoke is about to appear!
People arriving now run through the crowds searching for their friends, while a group of Spanish nuns hug and clasp hands, reports AFP's Ella Ide.
"Any moment now..." says John, a priest from Chicago, slapping his friend on the back. "Even the rain has stopped, it's just a perfect moment."
Papa boys -- (members of "pope boys", a youth association which supports the pope) hold up a banner reading "Faithful papa boys are here", while French nuns begin to sing hymns.
1825 GMT: A group of ten pilgrims from Malta are in St Peter's Square waving their country's red and white flag.
"This is our first visit to Rome -- we came for the conclave," says Francesco Randich, 22.
"There will probably be no white smoke tonight, but we will be here until a pope is chosen."
1817 GMT: The famous black and white smoke to indicate whether a pope has been chosen was once created by mixing either wet straw, for white, or pitch, for black, with the cardinals' ballot papers.
But now, "we use smoke flares," Paolo Sagretti, who was in charge of setting up the chapel for the election conclave, tells AFP.
The method was introduced in 2005 following several episodes in which greyish smoke left onlookers in confusion.
Two stoves stand in a corner of the chapel, one for burning the ballots and the other for the chemicals, with the smoke from both stoves going up a common flue. An electronic control panel allows the choice between the two.
1814 GMT: A flock of seagulls flies over the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
Fernando Mucci, 40, from Rome, says: "A friend and I were in the area and we decided to come here. Being here is like being in the pages of a history book."
1809 GMT: A second topless feminist activist has protested on the edge of St Peter's Square, our reporters say -- this one shouting "War no more" following the first protester's "Pope no more".
She also let off a pink flare and was detained and taken to a local police station.
Both women said they were from the Ukrainian group Femen, which has been making headlines since 2010 for topless feminist, pro-democracy and anti-corruption protests.
1805 GMT: A few cheers go up from the excitable crowd as bells ring out to mark 7pm local time.
As if he doesn't trust his eyes, one man is listening to Vatican radio on his phone while watching the screen, to get confirmation of the smoke colour if and when it comes...
1759 GMT: Tens of thousands of people are in St Peter's Square, with all eyes focused on the Sistine Chapel chimney -- difficult to see in the darkness -- or the screens showing the chimney in giant size.
1750 GMT: The square is filling up fast now, with old and young Catholics, priests and nuns standing together and reciting prayers. A group of young US priests are cracking jokes.
There's an atmosphere of great anticipation, but the conspiracy theories have also begun: an Italian man wonders aloud if the footage of the chimney being shown on the big screens is live, because the sky around the flue is lit up more brightly than the nighttime sky as seen from the square...
"I think this is the footage from the last conclave! The sky was clear then, just like it is on the screens... We're being had!" he concludes.
1745 GMT: Adriano Stefanelli, 28, a theology student from Brazil who is of Italian origin, plans to return every time smoke is due to emerge from the chimney.
He thinks the choice will finally be made on Thursday.
"Nationality is not important -- just that the new pope carries on the work of the last two great popes we had. We need a strong man, a listener, and a more open church."
1740 GMT: St Peter's Square is filling up in anticipation of the smoke that is likely to billow from the chimney tonight following the cardinals' first vote.
1733 GMT: A protester from the Ukrainian-based topless feminist group Femen lets off a pink flare on St Peter's Square.
"Paedophilia no more" is written on her naked chest, and "pope no more" on her back.
Italian police drag her away by her hands and feet as she shouts "Pope no more!"
Eight protesters from the same group flashed their breasts inside the iconic Notre Dame cathedral in Paris on February 12 after the pope resigned, shouting "no more homophobe" and "in gay we trust".
1729 GMT: Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi says that the cardinal electors are "all in good shape."
During the opening ceremony of the conclave, he says, "the atmosphere was very serious and earnest... We lived through a very important moment."
1720 GMT: On the square, young members of the Incarnate Word religious community are singing in Italian: "The new pope, the new pope, who will he be, who will he be, who knows? Who knows?"
1718 GMT: There are still hundreds of people on St Peter's Square -- despite some in the crowd, including a nun and an amateur photographer, agreeing that it is impossible to see the smoke coming from the chimney in the evening.
1714 GMT: A stone's throw from the Vatican, young Catholics from all over the world are praying in 24-hour vigils.
"We are holding non-stop prayers here, day and night, asking people to come and support the cardinals with their prayers," says Fabien Lambert, chaplain of the 12th-century Saint Lawrence church and international youth centre in Rome.
1710 GMT: Pilgrims are singing in St Peter's Square as the light begins to fade and spotlights light up in front of the basilica.
Onlookers, many of them young, are laughing and joking. Some wear Italian flags, others Brazilian.
1704: Wearing black beneath a black umbrella, with a finely cut goatee, young Calabrian priest Don Mario is moved by "the great responsibility weighing on the cardinals."
But he believes that "the pope will be chosen by tomorrow."
"There have been many meetings and some choices have already been made... The announcement could even be tonight.
"I hope the pope will be from Europe... This pope will take the church into a new era," he tells our reporter, Gildas le Roux.
1658 GMT: Despite the rain, pilgrims are queuing up at the Vatican Post truck parked in St Peter's Square to buy a set of souvenir stamps -- a snip at 6.05 euros, reports AFP's Ralf Isermann.
1653 GMT: Among the onlookers, one man cries out: "White smoke soon, I can feel it coming!"
Another jokes: "I'll bet you 100 euros it'll be the Brazilian!"
Brazilian cardinal Odilo Scherer is regarded as among the favourites.
1650 GMT: In St Peter's Square, a few dozen umbrella-wielding onlookers remain in front of the big screens watching out for smoke, even though none is expected before 1800 GMT.
1646 GMT: Caroline Kempf, a German Catholic visitor aged 19, says she was sad to see her compatriot Joseph Ratzinger resign the papacy.
"We won't have a German pope again tomorrow!" she says.
The biggest number of popes in the past have been Italian, but some have suggested the church might look to an African or South American this time, given the church's growing congregations on those continents.
1642 GMT: Crowds in St Peter's Square have largely melted away -- knowing that although the first vote will be in a little over an hour, with no clear front-runner for pope it is unlikely that white smoke will emerge then.
1636 GMT: As rain pours down, the eyes of spectators turn to the chimney, where a smoke signal will emerge after each of the four votes that will take place every day.
Now, two masters of ceremonies will be distributing voting papers to the cardinal electors, each inscribed at the top with the words "Eligo in Summum Pontificem" ("I elect as supreme pontiff") with a blank space underneath.
Lots will be drawn to select nine cardinals as "scrutineers" who count the votes, "infirmarii" who collect votes from any cardinals who fall ill, and "revisers" who check the vote counts.
1634 GMT: THE SISTINE CHAPEL'S DOORS SWING SHUT: CONCLAVE OFFICIALLY BEGINS
1633 GMT: The ceremony of oaths concludes, with the famous shout of "Extra omnes": "Everyone out".
Only the 115 cardinal electors remain inside the Sistine Chapel.
1621 GMT: As the cardinals take their oaths one by one, outside in the square people gather to take photos of a man in a sackcloth cassock kneeling in the square praying barefoot in the rain.
Peter, a 61-year-old tourist from Denmark, says: "I can't believe the modern technology -- the big screens -- being used by an institution so old... I didn't think they'd actually show us the cardinals inside the Sistine Chapel."
Journalists wrapped from head to toe in waterproofs hold their positions around the obelisk in the middle of the square, cameras already pointed at the chimney.
1615 GMT: The conclave takes the form of a series of votes, so smoke will billow from the specially installed stove and chimney at the Sistine Chapel more than once.
But if it's black smoke, that means the cardinals haven't yet reached the two-thirds majority needed for a decision.
If it's white smoke, then the Catholic church has a new leader.
1611 GMT: Cardinals continue to line up to take their oaths, one by one.
During the conclave, an Italian newspaper reports, they won't be distracted even by the food: they will get plain but wholesome meals that won't provide any incentive to prolong their deliberations.
The nuns who will cook for the 115 cardinals during the papal conclave at their Casa Santa Marta residence "are already preparing meals of soup, spaghetti, small meat kebabs and boiled vegetables", the Corriere della Sera reported.
"All of the cardinals consider these dishes as rather forgettable compared to the menus at the restaurants in Rome," it said -- comparing the fare to hospital food.
1600 GMT: After a collective oath, each cardinal swears their silence individually.
Out in the square, some people seem oblivious to the rain -- they are standing bare-headed in front of the giant screens, snacking on oranges, crisps and drinking hot coffee from flasks.
Others are sitting on camping chairs to watch the ceremony.
1556 GMT: Cardinals take a Latin oath to keep silent about the process of electing a new pope.
One cardinal, who did not give his name, reported in the Italian foreign affairs review Limes that during the 2005 conclave which selected Benedict XVI, security was so tight that even the blinds on the windows at the cardinals' residence were sealed shut.
1554 GMT: In St Peter's Square, Ella Ide reports that more people are arriving to watch the big screens showing the cardinal electors.
Some are singing quietly along with the sung prayers, while others bow their heads in prayer.
The rain abates and tourist groups venture back onto the square to take photos of the historic moment.
1550 GMT: Taking their places at the tables, the cardinals take off their birettas, or skullcaps, and put them on the tables in front of them.
The scene is dominated by Michaelangelo's Last Judgement fresco, which takes up the entire wall behind the choir.
1547 GMT: In the middle of the chapel is a lectern with the Gospels, while two long tables have been placed on each side of the chapel for the cardinals to carry out their work, reports AFP's Gildas le Roux.
1546: Still chanting the Litany of the Saints, the cardinals intone in Latin: "Ora pro nobis" ("Pray for us").
1542: The cardinals, in purple cassocks and white surplices, bow in pairs before the altar, then take their places beneath the arches painted by Michaelangelo.
1540 GMT: The first cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel, to the flashes of hundreds of cameras.
1539 GMT: Crowds are gathering in front of the huge screens that will broadcast the conclave's opening ceremony.
1535 GMT: Swiss Guards line the corridors as the cardinals advance, chanting a Latin prayer, the Litany of the Saints.
1533 GMT: The cardinals begin their procession through the corridors of the Apostolic Palace towards the Sistine Chapel.
1530 GMT: The cardinals gather in the Pauline Chapel and prepare for their procession to the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave will open.
1525 GMT: Perhaps the weather has deterred some of the faithful.
Giuseppe Fannaro, 57, who owns a souvenir stall near the square, tells AFP's Eleanor Ide: "I thought we'd be selling more Vatican memorabilia today, but there's more journalists here than pilgrims or tourists at the moment!"
1515 GMT: The first-ever papal conclave in the 13th century dragged on for nearly three years, but those in Rome for the event are likely to wait a few days at most.
The longest conclave in the past century -- in 1922 -- lasted only five days, while Benedict's election after John Paul II's death in 2005 took only two days.
1508 GMT: Much of the conclave will be carried out in Latin according to ancient tradition, but in a newer twist, some cardinals have taken to Twitter to say goodbye before they enter the chapel -- where phone signals will be jammed to prevent leaks.
"Last tweet before conclave: May Our Father hear and answer with love and mercy all prayers and sacrifices offered for fruitful outcome. God bless!" South African cardinal Wilfrid Napier said.
1508 GMT: The four giant screens either side of the entrance to the Basilica are currently showing St Peter's Square, as the faithful wait patiently amid the rain, reports Franck Iovene.
One, a Filipino visitor, remarks that "it's not normal for a pope to resign".
But an Italian responds that the pope had faced "all these cases, all these scandals" -- a reference to the priest sex abuse cases that have damaged the church.
1500 GMT: The 115 cardinal electors have left Casa Santa Marta, where they are staying during the conclave, to move to the Apostolic Palace.
They will process from there to the Sistine Chapel at 1530 GMT.
1454 GMT: Officers from Italy's civil protection unit are guarding the entrance to the square, but one says: "We're really here in case the masses descend, but the rain's keeping most people away."
A red cross tent has been set up, while several ambulances are on standby, reports Eleanor Ide.
Security is heightened: police have been carrying out periodic searches with sniffer dogs, checking for explosives.
1450 GMT: Italian archbishop Angelo Scola remains the favourite to become the next pope -- according to bookmakers who are avidly following events in the Vatican.
In their reckoning, he is followed by Ghana's Peter Turkson and Odilo Scherer of Brazil.
Ireland's Paddy Power and Britain's William Hill are both giving odds of 9/4 on Scola to win...
1444 GMT: At the entrance of the square and the end of the Via della Conciliazione, which leads to the basilica, two huge scaffolding structures have been built to accommodate the world's media, which have descended for the conclave.
Huge screens have been put up on the sides of the basilica.
1438 GMT: Some of the visitors are hoping to get a front-row spot unless white smoke appears today, reports AFP's Eleanor Ide.
"It's freezing and I'm wet through, but we're here now, so we're staying put in case it happens today!" said Marie Philippe from Belgium, 53, who travelled to Rome for the conclave.
Jenny Bunter, 23, from Canada, who is studying in Rome, says: "I don't think they will elect the pope today, but I'm ready to wait it out."
1430 GMT: Pilgrims who have travelled to the Vatican for the occasion are undeterred by bad weather, reports AFP's Franck Iovene.
Umbrellas of all colours have opened up in St Peter's Square, he says, while pilgrims from around the world have taken refuge in Bernini's famous colonnade from heavy rain that is occasionally turning to hail.
WELCOME TO AFP'S LIVE REPORT as cardinals begin their conclave in the Vatican to choose a new pope after the shock resignation of Benedict XVI.
Under a strict vow of secrecy, 115 cardinal electors will enter the Sistine Chapel, starting with a ceremonial procession and ritual chants.
They have already prayed at a special mass today in St Peter's Basilica, along with thousands of pilgrims.
The men will stay in the chapel for as long as it takes for two-thirds of the cardinals to agree on the right candidate -- usually a few days -- while Vatican-watchers wait eagerly for signs of white smoke rising from the special chimney installed to let the world know when the new pontiff is chosen.
