FILE -- In this file photo taken on April 18, 2005 and released by the Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano, Master of Liturgical Celebrations Archbishop Piero Marini closes the door of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, after proclaiming the "extra omnes", which is the Latin order for all those not taking part in the conclave to leave the chapel. Ritual words, uttered in Latin, open and close the secret selection process of the new pope. It starts with "Extra omnes" _ or "Everyone out" _ expelling everyone but voting cardinals from the Sistine Chapel where conclave balloting takes place. It ends with "Accepto" _ "I accept" _ the solemn word the victorious cardinal utters to confirm the judgment of peers who have given him the two-thirds majority needed to elect a pope. (AP Photo/Osservatore Romano, ho)
FILE -- In this file photo taken on April 18, 2005 and released by the Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano, Master of Liturgical Celebrations Archbishop Piero Marini closes the door of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, after proclaiming the "extra omnes", which is the Latin order for all those not taking part in the conclave to leave the chapel. Ritual words, uttered in Latin, open and close the secret selection process of the new pope. It starts with "Extra omnes" _ or "Everyone out" _ expelling everyone but voting cardinals from the Sistine Chapel where conclave balloting takes place. It ends with "Accepto" _ "I accept" _ the solemn word the victorious cardinal utters to confirm the judgment of peers who have given him the two-thirds majority needed to elect a pope. (AP Photo/Osservatore Romano, ho)
FILE -- This picture released by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Friday, April 15, 2005, shows two stoves set up in the Sistine Chapel where the upcoming Vatican conclave will be held. Ritual words, uttered in Latin, open and close the secret selection process of the new pope. It starts with "Extra omnes" _ or "Everyone out" _ expelling everyone but voting cardinals from the Sistine Chapel where conclave balloting takes place. It ends with "Accepto" _ "I accept" _ the solemn word the victorious cardinal utters to confirm the judgment of peers who have given him the two-thirds majority needed to elect a pope. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano)
Tourists walk in the square as the sun sets behind the statues on top of the Bernini colonnade in St. Peter Square, at the Vatican, Monday, March 4, 2013. Cardinals from around the world have gathered inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid scandals inside and out of the Vatican and the continued reverberations of Benedict XVI's decision to retire. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The sun sets behind the statues on top of the Bernini colonnade in St. Peter Square, at the Vatican, Monday, March 4, 2013. Cardinals from around the world have gathered inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid scandals inside and out of the Vatican and the continued reverberations of Benedict XVI's decision to retire. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
VATICAN CITY (AP) ? The Sistine Chapel closed to visitors on Tuesday and construction work got under way to prepare it for the conclave, where cardinals from around the world will gather to elect the new pope after Benedict XVI's resignation last month.
The Vatican said that it was waiting for five more cardinals to arrive before setting the date for the election.
Michelangelo's frescoed masterpiece closed at 1 p.m. to visitors, one of the first visible signs that the election was nearing. Construction work involves installing a false floor to cover the anti-bugging devices and even it out, as well as installing the stove where the ballots will be burned.
A total of 110 of the 115 voting-age cardinals attended the second day of preparatory meetings Tuesday to organize the conclave, discuss the problems of the church and get to know one another, the Vatican said.
Those still making their way to Rome included: Egyptian Patriarch Antonios Naguib, and Cardinals Karl Lehmann of Germany, Jean-Baptiste Pham of Vietnam, Kazimierz Nycz of Poland and John Tong Hon of Hong Kong, the Vatican said.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said they were expected in the coming days and that there was no concern about the delay; some had important meetings of bishops to attend to, he noted.
During the second day of pre-conclave meetings, cardinals asked for information about the management of the Vatican bureaucracy ? and managers responded ? after cardinals said they wanted to get to the bottom of allegations of corruption and cronyism in the Holy See's governance.
Lombardi refused to say who responded and whether the questions referred to the leaks of Vatican documents, which exposed evidence of turf battles and political intrigue.
Also Tuesday, cardinals signed off on a telegram sent to Benedict XVI thanking him for his "brilliant" ministry and his "untiring work in the vineyard of the Lord."
And the Vatican showed off the urns into which the cardinals will place their ballots, the same silver and bronze flying-saucer-like urns used in the 2005 conclave that elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger pope.
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