Cardinals’ conclave to elect new pope will begin May 7

Catholic cardinals on Monday said they will begin next week the conclave process to elect Pope Francis’ successor, according to the Vatican’s news service. Until the conclave begins, cardinals are working on getting to know one another as the mourning period for Francis continues, British Cardinal Vincent Nichols told the Associated Press. One of them will be chosen by the rest as the new pope.

A total of 135 cardinals are qualified as electors for the conclave, according to Vatican statistics. Only cardinals younger than 80 can be electors. The majority of them were appointed by Francis. But some of them may not actually travel to Rome to participate in the vote—just over a hundred electors were in Rome on Monday, Vatican News reported. About 22 cardinals worldwide are considered papabili, or leading candidates for the job of pope, by Catholic journalists and researchers at the College of Cardinals Report.

Once the conclave begins, the decision could come as soon as two to three days later, Venezuelan Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo told the Associated Press.

How does the election process work? All the cardinals qualified as electors will be sealed inside the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel beginning May 7 for as long as it takes to choose a new pope. All the cardinals must swear to secrecy and to follow the rules of election prescribed in church constitutions. Each cardinal will also promise to faithfully carry out the duties of a pope if chosen. The cardinals will recite prayers and hold discussions until they settle on one candidate in a two-thirds majority vote.

If a vote is inconclusive, a chimney above the Sistine Chapel will emit black smoke, according to the Vatican’s news service. If a pope is elected, white smoke will appear. The chosen cardinal will become the new Bishop of Rome and the 267th head of the Catholic Church.

What’s the controversy over Cardinal Becciu? A formerly prominent cardinal, Angelo Becciu, is no longer qualified as an elector after the Vatican criminal court convicted him of embezzlement-related charges in 2023. Becciu appealed the decision and participated in pre-conclave meetings, but it wasn’t clear whether canon lawyers would decide if he could vote in time for the conclave, the Associated Press reported.

Dig deeper: Read my coverage of Pope Francis’ funeral.