Cardinals arrive at the Vatican for a gathering of all members of the College of Cardinals after the pope’s death and before the start of the conclave.
ROME, ITALY (LOOKING AT VATICAN CITY) – View of the chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel roof, which will emit smoke at two fixed times in the day, once the conclave to elect a new pope starts on May 7.
With 179 cardinals present — 132 of them electors — the tenth congregation featured 26 interventions on key themes: the need for a Pope close to the people, the Church’s missionary nature, transmission of the faith, care for creation, and service to the poor.
Who will be the next pope? Key candidates in an unpredictable process A mourning mass is held in St Peter’s Basilica, as part of the official nine days of mourning, known as the “novendiali”, following the funeral of Pope Francis and ahead of the conclave to elect a new pope.
The decision will be made when the College of Cardinals begins meeting in conclave from 16:30 on 7 May in the 15th Century Sistine Chapel. It will involve 133 cardinals aged under 80, who will debate and then vote for their preferred candidate until a single name secures the support of two-thirds of them.
Their choice could have a profound impact on the Catholic Church and the world’s 1.4 billion baptised Roman Catholics, and it is harder than ever to predict who it will be.
With 80% of the cardinals appointed by Pope Francis himself, most are not only electing a pope for the first time, but will offer a broad global perspective. For the first time in history, fewer than half of those given a vote will be European.
