The attention of the whole world will be shifting to the Vatican once again as the Conclave to elect the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church after the death of Pope Francis begins on Wednesday, May 7.
The Vatican announced that the conclave will be held in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
The date was decided during a closed-door meeting of cardinals at the Vatican last Monday, two days after the funeral of Pope Francis, who died on April 21, aged 88.
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 Catholic Church. The Vatican on Monday closed the Sistine Chapel, where voting will take place, to begin preparations.
This year’s conclave marks a notable increase in participation compared with previous ones after 115 cardinals took part in the 2005 and 2013 Elections.
About 80 percent of the current electors were appointed by Pope Francis, who made efforts to broaden the Church’s global representation.
Europe will again provide 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 country with 17 cardinals ahead of the United States with 10, Brazil with seven and France with five.
Funeral
Meanwhile Pope Francis was on Saturday, April 26, laid to rest in Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica, near an icon of the Madonna that he revered because it reflected his humble and simple life.
Earlier, hundreds of thousands of people gathered at the Vatican to mourn the late pontiff who was loved by many around the world for railing against war, capitalism and climate change, and for his work with the poor and dispossessed.
Foreign delegations from 164 countries attended the funeral, including President Donald Trump, who met with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Requiem Mass. Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, as well as Britain’s Prince William, and French President, Emmanuel Macron, were also in attendance.
Pope Francis’ Funeral and Interment come after his body laid in state in St. Peter’s Basilica for three days. At least 250,000 mourners filed past his coffin to pay their respects.
Pope Francis was buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy. He had chosen this location due to his devotion to the Marian icon, “Salus Populi Romani”, housed in the church. The burial site is a niche in the side aisle between the Pauline Chapel and the Sforza Chapel. This marks the first time a pope has been buried outside the Vatican since Pope Leo XIII in 1903.
News source: CNN
