The Vatican has announced that a conclave to elect a new leader of the Roman Catholic Church following Pope Francis’ death will begin on May 7.
The date was set during a closed-door meeting of cardinals at the Vatican on Monday, two days after Francis’ funeral. Francis died on April 21 at the age of 88.
According to the Holy See, “a total of 135 cardinals from across the world and below the age of 80 are eligible to take part in the secret vote to decide who will be the next head of the 1.4-billion-member church.”
The Vatican on Monday closed the Sistine Chapel, where voting will take place, to begin preparations.
This year’s conclave has a far higher participation rate than previous ones, with 115 cardinals voting in the 2005 and 2013 elections.
Francis appointed over 80% of the current electors as part of his efforts to increase the church’s global presence.
Europe will once again have the largest voting group, 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 continues to be the most represented country, with 17 cardinals, followed by the United States (10), Brazil (7), and France (5).
The conclave’s members cast their votes via secret ballots, a process overseen by nine randomly selected cardinals.
A two-thirds majority is traditionally required to elect a new pope, and voting continues until this threshold is met.
After each round, the ballots are burned with chemicals producing either black or white smoke, signalling to the world the outcome.
Black smoke indicates that no decisions have been made, however white smoke indicates that a new pope has been elected.
When the pope is elected, a top cardinal announces his name from St. Peter’s Basilica.
While there is no set time limit for a conclave, history demonstrates that the procedure might vary.
Both Francis and his predecessor, Benedict XVI, were elected in under two days.
The longest contemporary conclaves, in 1903 and 1922, lasted five days.
In the 13th century, a three-year standoff following a pope’s death prompted reforms that are still in effect today.
