The Vatican has announced that a secret conclave to elect the next pope will begin on May 7, following the death of Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88 on Easter Monday. His funeral was held last Saturday, drawing global tributes.
The closed-door meeting will take place inside the Sistine Chapel, with 135 cardinals from around the world expected to participate. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni confirmed that the cardinals will begin with a solemn mass at St. Peter’s Basilica before proceeding into the conclave, where they will remain isolated from all outside communication until a new pontiff is elected.
This ancient and highly secretive process will start with one round of voting on the first afternoon, followed by up to four rounds per day. A candidate must receive a two-thirds majority to be elected pope. If no consensus is reached after three days, the cardinals may take a break for prayer before resuming the vote.
Each ballot is handwritten on a card stating in Latin, "I elect as Supreme Pontiff," followed by the chosen name. The world will watch the chapel chimney for the traditional smoke signals — black for no decision, white for a successful election.
The last two conclaves in 2005 and 2013 each took just two days, but with no set timeline, the process could take longer depending on the deliberations among the cardinals.
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