Following the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday at the age of 88, who was laid to rest on Saturday, the Vatican announced on Monday, the 28th of April, that the cardinals will hold a conclave next month to elect the next Pope, according to the British broadcaster BBC.
The closed-door meeting, which will be attended by around 135 cardinals from around the world, will begin on the 7th of May in the Sistine Chapel.
It is not known how long it will take to elect the next Pope, but the previous two conclaves, held in 2005 and 2013, took just two days.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the cardinals would attend a solemn mass in St Peter’s Basilica, after which voters would gather in the Sistine Chapel to take part in the secret ballot.
ONCE IN THE SISTINE CHAPEL, THE CARDINALS WILL HAVE NO CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD UNTIL THE NEW POPE IS ELECTED.
On the first afternoon of the conclave, only one round of voting will take place, but after that the cardinals will vote up to four times each day.
A two-thirds majority is needed to elect a new Pope and collecting votes can take time.
Each cardinal casts his vote on a simple piece of paper which reads in Latin: “I elect the Supreme Pontiff”, with the name of the chosen candidate written next to it.
If the conclave enters its third day without a decision, the cardinals may pause for a day of prayer.
Meanwhile, the whole world will be watching outside the Sistine Chapel, waiting for the smoke to come out of the chimney. If the smoke is black, there will be another round of voting; if it is white, the new Pope has been chosen.
Pope Francis’ funeral was held in St Peter’s Square on Saturday, attended by thousands of mourners. After the ceremony, huge crowds lined the streets of Rome to watch the Pope’s coffin being carried in procession to his final resting place, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
Authorities said that 140 000 people gathered in the streets to applaud and wave to the car carrying the coffin as they bade farewell to Pope Francis.