The Vatican on Wednesday hailed the "courage" of cardinals in electing the first Latin American pope at an historic conclave in the Sistine Chapel. The cardinals "had the courage of crossing the Ocean and widening the perspective of the Church," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters. jlv/dt/bm

Vatican City, Mar 12 (EFE).- Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the dean of the College of Cardinals, celebrated Mass on Tuesday ahead of the start of the enclave to select the Roman Catholic Church's next pope. Sodano called for unity in the Catholic Church and asked God to provide the faithful with another pontiff with a "generous heart" who will work tirelessly for justice and peace in the world. The 115 cardinal electors, other members of the clergy, the diplomatic corps and thousands of the faithful attended the "pro eligendo Romano Pontifice" Mass at St. Peter's Basilica.

The Vatican on Friday gave its blessing to a new German website called "Adopt a Cardinal" that is encouraging the faithful to pray for individual cardinals chosen at random by a computer programme. "The cardinals were informed about the website. A lot of people have signed up," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters, referring to ongoing pre-conclave talks in the Vatican. "There is a movement of prayer with the help of a website," Lombardi said.

* American cardinals' briefing cancelled at last minute * Vatican says pre-conclave meeting must be discreet * No date set for conclave start * Workmen begin preparing Sistine Chapel By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, March 6 (Reuters) - Vatican officials on Wednesday told cardinals gathered for the election of the next pope to stop speaking to the media, as further indications emerged that a conclave would not start early next week as had been expected.