All is ready

As the Cardianals prepare for the final day of meetings before they enter into the Conclave, preparations within the Sistine are almost ready.

The floor has been laid and the tables are being put into place. 

The ballots are being printed and readied, and the pens which will be used to mark the ballots are being filled with ink.

Even the stoves have been installed and the chimneys are ready to announce the verdict of the voting to the world:

Meanwhile, the famous Gammarelli, taylors to Popes and other ecclesiastics since 1798 has three sizes of the papal robes ready just in case.  The white robes, in small, medium and large sizes are traditionally kept in the room of tears, a small annex located just off the Sistine Chapel.

All that remains now is for the interventions in the Synod Hall to be completed, and for the oaths to be sworn.  The procession of Cardinals on Tuesday afternoon will signal the beginning of the Conclave, and then it will simply be a matter of waiting for the smoke to signal the election of the Bishop of Rome.  That's what the people on the outside of the Sistine will see.  Explaining the process of what will take place inside the Sistine is quite another matter.