The American spy agency monitored telephone calls made to and from the clerical residence in Rome where then Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio stayed during this year's conclave, the secret election at which cardinals chose him as pontiff.

The claims were made by Panorama, an Italian weekly news magazine, which said the National Security Agency monitored the telephone calls of many bishops and cardinals at the Vatican in the lead-up to the conclave, held in the Sistine Chapel.

Before being elected as Pope Francis ... the NSA monitored calls to and from the Rome residence where the then Archbishop Bergoglio stayed, according to Italian news magazine Panorama. Credit:Reuters

The information gleaned was then reportedly divided into four categories – “leadership intentions”, “threats to financial system”, “foreign policy objectives” and “human rights”.

The allegations follow a report on surveillance website Cryptome that said the United States intercepted 46 million telephone calls in Italy between December 10, 2012 and January 8, 2013.