VATICAN CITY: In a major change to a centuries-old practice, the Vatican plans to ring bells in addition to sending up white smoke to signal to the world that a new Pope has been elected, a top Vatican official said yesterday.

Archbishop Piero Marini, master of ceremonies for liturgical celebrations, said the bells were being added to avoid confusion over the colour of the smoke coming from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Black smoke signals no decision has been made after a round of balloting; white smoke means a Pope has been elected.

“This time we plan to ring the bells to make the election of the Pope clearer,” he told reporters, recalling the confusion that ensued in past papal elections over the colour of smoke. “This way even journalists will know.”

He said the Vatican was also trying to improve the burning procedure to make the color more easily identifiable. The smoke is made when the ballot papers from each round of voting are burned with special chemicals to make the ashes black or white.

The College of Cardinals, meanwhile, met for a second day to discuss plans for the conclave which will elect a new Pope and Friday’s funeral, in which His Holiness, the late Pope John Paul will be laid to rest with regal pageantry near the tomb traditionally believed to be that of the first Pope, St Peter.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said that after the meeting was concluded the cardinals had not yet decided on a date for the conclave, which according to church law must occur between 15 and 20 days after the death of a Pope.

He also said 91 of the 183 cardinals were in Rome as of yesterday. Only 117 of them – those under the age of 80 – can vote in a conclave.

Brazilian Cardinal Geraldo Majella Agnelo, archbishop of Sao Salvador da Bahia, yesterday told Italian state radio he thought a new Pope would be chosen quickly.

“I don’t think it will be a long conclave,” he said, adding that cardinals would have had time to reflect beforehand and should already have “clear ideas” when the balloting begins. Asked if he was “papabile” or having the qualities of a Pope, he answered, “I have always said my shoulders were too small for such a heavy weight”.

As the cardinals met, buses unloaded groups of students, pilgrims and clergy who joined a line stretching for kilometres along the wide avenue leading to St Peter’s Square and through the streets of the neighbourhood which surrounds the Vatican.

Civil protection officials handed out tea and croissants to those who had waited overnight in unseasonably cold temperatures to view Pope John Paul’s body and pay their final respects.

“It’s an extraordinary day,” said Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, archbishop of Genoa, who yesterday morning was greeting pilgrims flanked by a camera crew and security personnel. He said the crowds were there “to give back to the Pope all the love the Pope gave to the world”.

Rome is bracing for an unprecedented flow of pilgrims – some predict their numbers may match the city’s own three million residents – in the days leading to Friday’s funeral, which will be attended by kings, presidents and prime ministers.

The doors of St Peter’s Basilica were opened to the general public on Monday evening. At 3am yesterday, an hour later than had been announced, the doors were closed for cleaning and the faithful outside chanted “Open up, open up!” in protest.

A few gave up and left but most simply camped out on the side of the road, wrapping up in blankets and sleeping bags. Just before 5am, about 20 minutes earlier than planned, the basilica’s doors reopened and people rushed back into line.

“It was sad but amazing; there were so many people in the basilica but it was still completely silent,” said Lauren Davia, a 20-year-old American who studies in Rome. Davia saw the Pope after a four-hour wait which began early in the morning. Faithful coming during the day could expect to wait for even longer.

Margherita Saccomani, who came from the Tuscan port town of Leghorn to pay her respects to the Pope, huddled under an emergency foil blanket with her three children during the wait.

“I hope it’s not curiosity but deep faith that brings people here,” the 43-year-old Saccomani said. “I am here because I want my daughters to experience this.”

The cardinals – who are sworn to secrecy on their deliberations – are to review any papers the Pope may have left for them.

One may reveal to the college the name of a mysterious cardinal Pope John Paul said he had named in 2003 but had never publicly identified. The name of the cardinal was held in pectore or “in the heart” – a formula used when the Pope appoints a cardinal in a country where the Church is oppressed.

Navarro-Valls yesterday said he did not know if the Pope had included any mention of the in pectore cardinal in any documents given to the cardinals to read. He said that should he have any information, he would make it public.

Hundreds of dignitaries are expected to attend Friday’s funeral in a city which will virtually shut down for all other purposes.

Britain’s Prince Charles postponed his wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles by a day so he could represent Queen Elizabeth II at the funeral.

Others attending will include the heads of Muslim states and a delegation from communist Cuba.

On Monday, Pope John Paul’s body was removed from the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, where it had lain in state for prelates and dignitaries. Twelve pallbearers in white gloves, flanked by Swiss Guards in medieval uniform, bore the Pope’s remains on a scarlet platform to the basilica.

On his feet were a pair of the simple brown leather shoes he favoured during his 26-year pontificate and wore on many of his trips to more than 120 countries – a poignant reminder of the legacy of history’s most-travelled Pope.

Navarro-Valls yesterday confirmed that Pope John Paul would be buried in an underground tomb where Pope John XXIII lay before he was brought up onto the main floor of the basilica. Pope John XXIII, who died in 1963, was moved after his 2000 beatification because so many pilgrims wanted to visit his tomb and the grotto where he was buried is in a cramped underground space.

Pope John Paul expressed a wish to be buried in the ground as opposed to an above-ground tomb, Marini said.

Navarro-Valls said Pope John Paul had not been embalmed but had been “prepared” for public viewing in the basilica. He did not elaborate.

Some recent Popes were embalmed. However, Pope Paul VI, who died in 1978, was only lightly embalmed before his body was put on full display in St Peter’s during Rome’s hot summer. After a couple of days, the body began to decay.

Pope John XXIII’s body, on the other hand, was preserved in excellent condition when it was exhumed in 2001 from the place where Pope John Paul will be buried.

The next Pope is likely to follow Pope John Paul’s conservative bent closely. The late pontiff appointed all but three of the 117 cardinals entitled to vote.

Pope John Paul opposed divorce, birth control and abortion, the ordination of women and the lifting of the celibacy requirement for priests – issues which sharply divided the Church.