The Vatican has announced that the conclave to elect a new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, following the death of Pope Francis, will commence on 7 May.
The decision was made during a closed-door meeting of cardinals at the Vatican on Monday, two days after the funeral of Francis, who passed away on 21 April at the age of 88.
According to the Vatican, a total of 135 cardinals from across the globe, all under the age of 80, are eligible to participate in the secret ballot to select the next head of the 1.4-billion-member Church.
Sistine Chapel Closed for Preparations
In preparation for the conclave, the Vatican has closed the Sistine Chapel to the public from Monday, where the voting will take place.
This year’s conclave sees a larger number of participants compared to previous ones, with 115 cardinals having taken part in both the 2005 and 2013 elections. Around 80 percent of the current electors were appointed by Francis, who had prioritised increasing the Church’s global representation.
Also Read: Pope Francis Laid to Rest at Basilica of St. Mary Major
Europe will once again constitute the largest voting bloc with 53 electors, followed by Asia and Oceania with 27, South and Central America with 21, Africa with 18, and North America with 16.
Italy remains the most represented nation with 17 cardinals, ahead of the United States with 10, Brazil with seven, and France with five.
Voting will be conducted via secret ballots, overseen by nine randomly selected cardinals. A two-thirds majority is traditionally required to elect a new pope, with voting continuing until the threshold is achieved.
After each round of voting, ballots are burned using special chemicals to produce either black or white smoke: black smoke indicates no decision has been reached, while white smoke signals that a new pope has been elected. Upon election, the new pope’s name is announced to the world from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
While there is no formal time limit for a conclave, recent history suggests the process can be swift. Both Francis and his predecessor, Benedict XVI, were elected within two days.
However, the duration can vary significantly: the longest modern conclaves, in 1903 and 1922, each lasted five days, while in the 13th century, a deadlock following a pope’s death stretched to three years, leading to reforms that remain in place today.
