Conclave: Cardinals to surrender phones, will survive on light meals

They will be asked to hand over their phones, the Vatican said. (File Photo: Catholic Church England and Wales/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

By Ramon Monsalve, Jr., ANSA, Philippine News Agency

ROME – The 133 cardinals who will pick Pope Francis’s successor in a conclave starting Wednesday have had their rooms in Santa Marta’s hostel – Francis’s own abode – assigned by lot, the Vatican said Monday.

While in the conclave in the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals will be cloistered in Santa Marta, taking up residence Tuesday night.

They will be asked to hand over their phones, the Vatican said.

During the conclave the Santa Marta kitchen has been instructed to serve up only light meals.