The Cardinals' Meals At The Papal Conclave Sound Pretty Awful
But it turns out the food they're served is pretty awful.
The cardinals eat meals cooked by the Sistine Chapel's nuns during conclave.
But AFP reports that according to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the nuns prepare "meals of soup, spaghetti, small meat kebabs and boiled vegetables" that are "similar to that served in hospitals."
The paper concluded that perhaps the poor quality of food would help speed up the election.
The idea that boring meals could help move along the process of choosing the next Pope might seem ridiculous, but it's actually very similar to what happened during a 13th Century enclave.
In 1268, a conclave began that lasted nearly three years — 33 months, to be exact.
Pope Gregory X was elected pope, but not before residents of Viterbo, north of Rome, tore the roof off the building where the cardinals were staying and restricted their meals to bread and water to make them hurry up.
Hoping to avoid a repeat, Gregory decreed in 1274 that cardinals would only get one meal a day if the conclave stretched beyond three days, and served bread, water and wine if it went beyond eight.
Thankfully for the current cardinals, his decree was abolished soon after. Otherwise if they still didn't have a Pope by the end of tomorrow, they would be down to only one meal a day.