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, a week ago today.
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 in the morning, 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.
Some 180 cardinals were present for the General Congregation today, 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 LifeSite’s 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.
This story is developing…
