The conclave will see cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope as the 267th Roman Pontiff.
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican has confirmed that the new conclave will start on May 7, as cardinals look to elect the new pope following Francis' death.
After the close of the General Congregation this morning, the Holy See Press Office confirmed to journalists that the conclave will commence on May 7, next Wednesday. This falls in the time scale set by the Church's law, which mandates the conclave start between 15 and 20 days following the death of a pope.
Pope Francis died on April 21.
His funeral was held on Saturday, as cardinals have continued to grow in number at the Vatican as they return to the city-state from across the world.
May 7 will see the cardinals gather for a Mass at 10 am in St. Peter's Basilica, as they pray for guidance for the forthcoming conclave and celebrate the specific Mass for the election of a new pope.
They will then process into the Sistine Chapel for the first round of voting to be held in the afternoon. This procession will start at 4:30 p.m. and will see the cardinals make their way from the Pauline Chapel into the Sistine Chapel, where the liturgical Master of Ceremonies will order everyone out except for the cardinals who are to be closed in.
Some 180 cardinals were present for the General Congregation Monday, with over 100 cardinal electors present out of that number. They will continue to meet in General Congregation prior to the Conclave, upon which time they will be sequestered in the Vatican and isolated from the outside world in order to preserve the integrity of the conclave.
Readers can find LifeSiteNews' full explainer on the process here.
There are currently over 130 cardinal electors in the College of Cardinals, and it is these cardinals only who will form part of the voting members in the Sistine Chapel.
Prior to that date, though, the cardinal electors can make use of the presence of those cardinals aged over 80 at the General Congregations, who will impart their wisdom and advice to the younger members of the college.
