Catholic Cardinals Meet to Discuss Date of Conclave for New Pope

The world’s Catholic cardinals met on Monday for the first time after the funeral of Pope Francis to discuss a possible date to enter a secret conclave and elect the next leader of the global Church.

Any decision could be announced around mid-day (1000 GMT). The conclave is not expected to begin before May 6.

The 16th-century Sistine Chapel, where conclaves are held, was closed to tourists on Monday to allow for preparations for the vote.

The past two conclaves, in 2005 and 2013, lasted just two days. But Swedish Cardinal Anders Arborelius said on Monday he expects this conclave may take longer, as many of the cardinals appointed by Pope Francis have never met each other before.

Francis made a priority of appointing cardinals from places that had never had them, such as Myanmar, Haiti, and Rwanda.

“We don’t know each other,” Arborelius, one of about 135 cardinals under the age of 80 who will enter the conclave, said.