Cardinals have chosen May 7 as the date to start the conclave and elect a new leader for 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, the Vatican announced.
The date for the papal election was decided on Monday after cardinals held the first daily congregation since Pope Francis’ funeral.
General congregations are closed-door meetings which have been held frequently since Francis’ death to discuss church matters and preparations for conclave. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are allowed to vote in a papal election. There are currently 135 cardinals eligible to participate in the upcoming election.
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However, at least one cardinal has revealed he will not be in attendance. The last two conclaves — held in 2005 to elect Pope Benedict XVI and in 2013 to elect Pope Francis — lasted two days.
Pope Francis, 88, died of a stroke and heart failure on Easter Monday. He was laid to rest on Saturday at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in a simple tomb as requested by the late pontiff, following a funeral Mass on the steps of the St. Peter’s Basilica that drew heads of state, royalty, and hundreds of thousands of mourners.
On Sunday afternoon, some of the cardinals visited the simple, marble tomb with the inscription “Franciscus” to pay homage to the late pontiff. Huge crowds filed past his final resting place in the basilica.