The Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State installed the ceremonial chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel ahead of the coming conclave.
The fire corps erected the ventilation pipe on Friday in preparation for the first round of votes in the papal election, which will begin on Wednesday.
“During the day, the chimney was installed on the roof of the Sistine Chapel,” the Vatican press office said in a statement. “Further information regarding technical tests may be communicated at a later date.”
Cardinals will gather in the chapel, built in 1481, to open the conclave and begin the election process. They will not be allowed to leave until a new pontiff takes the throne.
The cardinals will vote once on the first day of conclave. On subsequent days, the college will vote twice in the morning and twice in the evening until a two-thirds majority agrees on a candidate.
Each unsuccessful vote will be burned in a furnace with chemicals to dye the plume a black color. That smoke will rise up through the chimney and appear to the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square, signaling the failure of the vote.
When a successful vote is completed, a different mix of chemicals will be added to the ballots to give it a distinct white hue.
Not long after, the newly elected pontiff will appear on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to greet the thousands of faithful.
This will be the first conclave with over 120 participating electors.
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A governing document called Universi Dominici Gregis, propagated by Pope John Paul II in 1996, sets the limit for participating cardinals at 120. It was based on the same limit imposed by Pope Paul VI in 1975.
Pope Francis ignored this threshold and appointed an additional 13.
It’s far from the first time the number of appointed electors exceeding the professed limit.