The conclave to select the next pope has begun after Catholic cardinals from across the world filed into the Sistine Chapel Wednesday before sealing themselves inside.

The conclave to elect a new pope has officially begun, with a Vatican official calling out ''extra omnes'' and the door to the Sistine Chapel shutting.

As the papal conclave is set to begin to elect a new pope, the eyes of the world are on the Sistine Chapel, which will hold the Catholic cardinals as they cast their votes for the next leader of the Church.