The Gravity of the Papal Conclave - What I Didn't Realize!

On the drive home today I caught Dr. Matthew Bunson on Kresta in the Afternoon.  He shared two details - both related to art - that I never considered in relation to the Conclave; and both speak to the gravity of the Cardinals' actions.  

First, just before entering the Sistine Chapel, the College of Cardinals will gather to hear a sermon in the Cappalena Paolina (Chapel of St. Paul).  And the Cardinals will listen to that sermon beneath Michelangelo's fresco, the Martyrdom of St. Peter.  Looking at that fresco, each of them knows what election to the Papacy entails.

Second, once the Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel, they will engage in their deliberations under Michelangelo's Last Judgment.  They will elect Peter's Successor beneath that sobering reminder that each of them will have to answer to God for how he voted.