Sistine Chapel to Reopen After Conclave Selects New Pope

The world officially has a new pope in Robert Francis Prevost, the first American ever to become pontiff, and with his appointment will return the Sistine Chapel, which has been closed to the public for over a week while some 133 cardinals were gathered in a conclave.Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel is run by the Vatican Museums, which are among the most widely visited art institutions in the world, with 6.8 million attendees recorded in 2024 alone, according to a recent Art Newspaper survey.