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Conclave to Elect New Pope Set to Begin on May 7
Cardinals attend the religious mass Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice at Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on March 12, 2013, in advance of the last conclave to select a new pope. (doc: Aljazeera)
SEAToday.com, Jakarta - The Vatican announced that Catholic cardinals have set May 7 as the start date for the conclave to elect the next pope, successor to Pope Francis.
The secret voting will be held in the Sistine Chapel and attended by around 135 cardinals of voting age. There is no set date of the end of the conclave, but the last two conclaves in 2005 and 2013 finished within two days.
The conclave could have started on May 5, but the cardinals gave themselves extra time to speak in more informal sessions prior to the conclave.
The designated date will give them two more days to get to know one another better and find consensus on a candidate before they are sequestered in the Sistine Chapel.
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