Roman Catholic Cardinals preparing to elect a successor to the late Pope John Paul II held a final round of consultations, two days before beginning the ultra-secret Conclave where the voting will take place.
The official nine-day mourning period for John Paul, which began with a funeral attended by world leaders and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, ended with a Mass celebrated Saturday afternoon in St. Peter's Basilica.
The late pontiff's papal ring, the fisherman's ring, was also smashed according to centuries-old tradition, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.
The destruction of the ring, signifying the end of his 26-year Papacy, was performed by the Cardinal Camerlengo, or Chamberlain, Spain's Eduardo Martinez Somalo, who is temporarily in charge of the Holy See until a new Pope is elected. Somalo also broke the lead seal used to authenticate papal letters, in accordance with the apostolic constitution, as a prelude to the election. A new one will be made for the next Pope.
