Conclave to select new pope to begin May 7

The conclave to elect a new Pope will begin on May 7, the Holy See Press Office at the Vatican has announced.

The decision to set the date was made on Monday, April 28 by the Cardinals present in Rome at a closed-door meeting, the first since the funeral of Pope Francis on Easter Monday after a 12-year pontificate.

One hundred and thirty-five Cardinals from around the world are presently in Rome and all under 80 are eligible to vote for the next leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics.

Throughout the centuries, conclaves have been notoriously secretive and although speculation has been rife about forerunners, no one knows for sure who the next pope is going to be. Additionally, no one knows how long one will last. The previous two conclaves, held in 2005 and 2013, lasted just two days but there are reports that this one might last
longer since many of the cardinals do not know each other.

The word conclave, from Latin cum clave (with a key), predates Christianity to ancient Rome and it wasn’t until the Middle Ages it came into regular use to describe papal elections. Generally, it must begin 15 to 20 days after the death of a pope.

All election procedures take place only in the Sistine Chapel inside the Vatican Apostolic Palace, which remains completely sealed off until a new pope is elected with a two-thirds consensus.

Onlookers will know a new pope has been elected when white smoke comes out of a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel. If no pope has been selected after a round of voting, black smoke is emitted.