The Vatican changed a centuries-old practice yesterday by announcing plans to ring bells as well as sending up puffs of white smoke to signal the election of a new Pope.

The man overseeing the Vatican tradition explained that the reform was designed to remove doubt of the kind caused in 1978 when the wrong mix of chemicals was used when burning ballot papers, producing plumes of grey smoke that confounded the crowds.

The master of ceremonies for liturgical celebrations, Archbishop Piero Marini, said, “This time, we plan to ring the bells to make the election of the Pope clearer. This way, even the journalists will know.”

The election of a Pope is traditionally marked by white smoke coming from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where the cardinals gather to vote. After each ballot, the papers are burned in a stove with chemicals added to ensure that the color is either black, to signal a negative result, or white.

Meanwhile, the last will and testament of the Polish-born pope has still not been read to the cardinals. As it did not include burial instructions, a decision was made to follow precedent and lay his body to rest below St. Peter’s.

The College of Cardinals, which met in General Congregation for the second day, said that the pope would be buried a few yards from the resting place of St. Peter and in the spot formerly occupied by Pope John XXIII. The tomb was vacated in 2000 when his remains were transferred to St Peter’s Basilica.

A Vatican spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said that contrary to a practice used for some of his predecessors, John Paul II’s body had not been embalmed but only “appropriately prepared” for burial.

He added that yesterday’s meeting of cardinals had failed to decide on a date for the conclave.

Vatican watchers were busy yesterday poring over the contest for the papal throne in which, some argue, there appear to be no outstanding candidates or easy choices.

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, now 78 – the same age as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, another favorite – retired to Jerusalem after being Archbishop of Milan.

He was once the leading contender, but has lately been considered to be too old and too ill.

But admirers who have met him recently insist that his powers are undimmed, although he will still be regarded by some as too radical to preserve John Paul II’s legacy.

An analysis of the 117 cardinals under the age of 80 who are eligible to vote would suggest that an Italian is still a likely choice.

Italians represent the largest single national block, with 20 cardinals, or 17% of the college.

However, 83% of the college is non-Italian, suggesting that by themselves they do not have the numerical strength to dictate the election of the next Pope, even though Rome is the historical center of the church.