CONCLAVE (Lat. conclave, a chamber that may be
secured by means of a key, clavis), the place in which the
cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church meet in privacy for
the election of a pope. It also denotes the assembly itself.
The conclave is a series of small cells or apartments ranged
in a line along the galleries and hall of the Vatican; and
each cell has the arms of the particular cardinal over it. By
the constitutions of the church the cardinals may make
choice of any place for the conclave as they deem conven-
ient; but it is generally held in the Vatican.