“A digital fortress” in the Vatican: the “secret technologies” of the conclave to avoid leaks

On May 7, 2025 marked the start of the conclave intended to elect the new sovereign pontiff. In a hyperconnected world, the Vatican redoubles efforts to ensure the secrecy of this secular election. Advanced technological measures are implemented to prevent any information leakage, while participants are subject to strict confidentiality commitments.

Advertising, your content continues below

The Vatican, a digital fortress for the 2025 conclave

In the streets of Rome, pilgrims pray; In the air, drones are hunted down. The Italian Interior Ministry has established an air exclusion area around the Vatican, supported by an impressive anti-drone system: frequency jammers, specialized radars, and even electromagnetic pulse weapons capable of disabled in flight any suspicious machine.

“Bazookas anti-serials” ensure, too. Although the specific models are not confirmed, descriptions correspond to systems such as the bat dronedefender or the Skywall 100 of Openworks Engineering, which are designed to neutralize drones by disturbing their communications.

But the sky is not the only one to be completed. Inside the Sistine Chapel, we take over the practices of 2013: raised floor-to cuck the devices-, signs of signals, anti-microphones swallows … and above all, a giant Faraday cage which physically isolates voters of all electronic interference. At a time when even a badge can contain a spy chip, nothing is left to chance.

80 doors around the chapel and the conclave area were sealed with lead.

Any electronic device is prohibited, including for staff members housed at the Sainte-Marthe residence. No smartphone, no connected watch, not even an old dictaphone forgotten at the bottom of a cassock. The shadow of secrecy hovers like an iron rule, reinforced by the prescriptions of the Universi Dominici Gregis Apostolic Constitution, which has structured the organization of the modern conclave since 1996.

Advertising, your content continues below

Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See press office, said that the cardinals will all have to put their mobile phones back before entering and will not recover them at the end of the process. He stressed that this measure will “Beyond simple technical questions”insisting that the conclave is a “Process also united with prayer, meditation and reflection on the person that the Lord has identified as the pope of Rome”.

The weight of the oath, the oldest weapon … but the most fallible

Beyond technology, the Vatican still relies on another form of locking: the oath. All participants in the conclave, including support staff such as cooks, cleaners and security agents, take an oath of absolute secrecy. This oath stipulates that they are committed to not disclosing any information concerning the electoral process, under penalty of automatic excommunication. This measure, reinforced by Pope Benoît XVI in 2013, aims to preserve the integrity of the conclave.

The oath also includes the commitment not to use audio or video equipment capable of recording anything during the election period within the Vatican City. The cardinals themselves take this oath in the Sistine Chapel before starting the votes.

A protective envelope will be provided around cardinals at any time.

In 2005, a German cardinal had broken this oath by disclosing the name of Joseph Ratzinger even before the official announcement. And in 2023, Pope Francis himself had raised a corner of the veil on the backstage maneuvers that preceded his election.

Because if technology can reduce risks, it never fully replaces human fidelity – nor, sometimes, the pride of those who know. The conclave remains a mysterious scene, where the invisible mixes with modern hyper-control, and where the slightest breath can wave a secret of two millennia.

Advertising, your content continues below

Want to save even more? Discover our selected promo codes for you.