Papal conclave - Awesome responsibility for cardinals

Today will see the commencement of the centuries-old process in which 115 cardinals will gather in conclave to elect a successor to the late Pope John Paul II.

Shrouded in absolute secrecy in the Sistine Chapel, theirs would be an awesome responsibility in the normal course of history, but to decide who is to follow the Polish Pope is daunting.

Now that the official nine-day period of mourning for him is over, for the first time in 26 years the cardinals will be cloistered until this historic process is completed.