Media at Vatican await papal conclave date

VATICAN CITY – A major Italian news organization on Thursday reported Catholic cardinals had set a date for the papal conclave, but officials later announced that was not yet the case.

Local 2's Bill Balleza was among the reporters at the Vatican eagerly awaiting the news.

Reporters from around the world were jammed into media centers at the Vatican, certain that an afternoon press conference called by the Roman Curia would finally let the world know when College of Cardinals would go into seclusion and begin voting on a new pope.

An Italian newspaper reported that St. Peter's Basilica had been booked for a certain date next week, when the new pope would celebrate his first mass. Then came the announcement no one was expecting.

"There is no date for the conclave established," the church said.

Officials shared video of workers securing the Sistine Chapel, making it soundproof and completely invisible to the outside world. This is a ritual conducted each time the cardinals are locked inside the chapel to vote on a new pope.

Officials said the discussions that precede the conclave are going well and that an announcement may come as soon as tomorrow.