Cardinals to gather for papal conclave on 7 May, says Vatican

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - The Vatican on Monday announced that cardinals from around the world will meet next month in a secret conclave to elect the next pope, following the death of Pope Francis.

The closed-door gathering is set to begin on May 7 inside the Sistine Chapel and will include around 135 cardinals.

The election process, steeped in centuries-old tradition, comes after Pope Francis died on Easter Monday.

His funeral was held on Saturday.

There is no official timescale for how long the conclave may last, though the previous two papal elections—in 2005 and 2013—were both concluded within two days.

Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936, to Italian immigrant parents.

He studied in Argentina and later in Germany before being ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1969.

Over a decade into his papacy, he remained a figure of admiration and controversy.

He sought to reform the Vatican’s bureaucracy, tackle corruption, and address some of the church’s most pressing challenges.

The pope was admitted to a hospital in Rome in February with bronchitis, which developed into bilateral pneumonia. He was discharged after 38 days to continue his recovery at his Vatican residence.