VATICAN CITY - All 133 Catholic cardinals who will vote for a new pope have arrived in Rome, the Vatican said on Monday, two days before they gather in a conclave to elect the next head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.
Hailing from 70 countries across five continents, the group -- summoned following the death of Pope Francis on April 21 -- is the largest and the most international ever.
The 133 cardinals who will vote -- all those aged under 80, minus two who are absent for health reasons -- will gather on Wednesday afternoon under the frescoed splendour of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.
They are sworn to secrecy, risking excommunication if they reveal what happens -- as are their support staff, from medics to lift operators, canteen and cleaning staff, who took their oath on Monday.
The Vatican announced on Monday that it would also cut the phone signals within the tiny city state for the duration of the conclave, although this will not cover St Peter's Square, where thousands of pilgrims are expected to gather to see the new pope.
Cardinals of all ages had met earlier on Monday for the latest in a series of closed-door preparatory meetings.
Discussions so far have covered everything from the Vatican's finances to the abuse scandal and Church unity.
On Monday morning, "the focus was on the missionary nature of the Church: a Church that must not withdraw into herself", the Vatican said.
Cardinals discussed the profile of the next pope -- "a figure who must be present, close, capable of being a bridge and a guide, of favouring access to communion for a disoriented humanity marked by the crisis of the world order".
He should be "a shepherd close to the real life of the people", the Vatican added.
The conclave begins on Wednesday afternoon and could continue for days, weeks or even months -- although both Francis and his predecessor were elected within two days.
The cardinals will vote once the first day and four times a day thereafter until one of them has the two-thirds majority to be elected pope.
Under a centuries-old ritual, they will inform the waiting world of their progress by burning their ballots, with black smoke indicating no winner, and white smoke signalling a new pope.