Barely twenty days after the death of Pope Francis, the Vatican will host a new conclave under close surveillance. If tradition remains intact, the technological issue has changed its dimension. Connected devices, hidden microphones, everything must be considered to prevent the confidentiality of the vote being compromised. And this time, the security system will be worthy of a spy thriller.
Since 2005, phones have been prohibited during the conclave, but in 2025, the situation is much more complex, explains the American monthly magazine Wired. The authorities will have to deal with ever more sophisticated espionage attempts, involving artificial intelligence, drones or satellites. Nothing should filter deliberations between the cardinals gathered in Rome, and whoever violates the rule may be excommunicated, even imprisoned.
The Vatican, the smallest nation in the world, concentrates its forces. In addition to advanced technologies, the Vatican gendarmerie and the Pontifical Swiss Guard will provide military security from every moment. Behind their colorful costumes and halberds, local authorities are trained in handling heavy weapons, such as machine guns, rifles and explosives.
Experienced teams, specialized in the protection of highest personalities, will also be mobilized. The experience of the 2013 conclave, which saw the election of Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is still relatively fresh and will serve as the basis for the one who will designate his successor.
The Vatican Fortress
The precautionary measures adopted in previous conclaves should indeed be applied this year: meticulous inspections, multiple checks of participants … Everything is thought to guarantee an absolute closed closed do.
The cardinals will accommodate in an entirely locked environment and will not communicate with the outside world. The buildings will be scanned from top to bottom to track down the microphones and clandestine cameras. Signal jammers will transform the premises into a real electronic bunker. To prevent satellites or drones from capturing the slightest image, the windows will even be covered with opaque films.
In a world saturated with information, such a level of confidentiality questions: is it only feasible in 2025? For the Catholic Church, the symbolic and spiritual authority of the future Pope is at stake. The election must remain sacred, elusive, almost out of time.
With more than 200,000 people expected for the announcement of the new sovereign pontiff, one thing is certain: the Vatican is not entitled to error.
