Vatican Enters Conclave to Elect Next Pope After Francis

The papal conclave to elect a new leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics will begin on May 7, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

The cardinals set to participate in the conclave agreed the date after consultations in the Vatican, exactly one week after Pope Francis died at 88 on Easter Monday, CE Report quotes MIA.

The Argentine pontiff was buried at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome on Saturday after a funeral ceremony in the Vatican attended by global leaders and hundreds of thousands of onlookers.

The Catholic Church stands at a crossroads, with some members hoping for the next pontiff to continue Francis' reformist course, while others seek a return to its conservative traditions.

In order to pick Francis' successor, the church's top dignitaries will retire to the Sistine Chapel in strict seclusion from May 7, with all contact to the outside world forbidden.

In total, 135 cardinals under the age of 80 from across the world are eligible to vote, although one is unable to travel due to health reasons.

Some 108 of them were appointed by Francis after he succeeded pope Benedict XVI in 2013.

A two-thirds majority of the 134 cardinals expected to be involved in the conclave is needed to choose Francis' successor in a process that could take days, if not weeks.

The longest ever conclave began in late 1268 and lasted two years before Gregory X was elected.

Recent elections have been speedier, however, with Francis selected after just over 26 hours and Benedikt having been chosen after only four rounds.

Once the necessary majority is achieved, the would-be pope is asked if he accepts the post.

If he says yes, he assumes office from that moment and is asked to state the name he has chosen to use as pope - generally that of a former pontiff or of a beloved saint.

White smoke then rises from the Sistine Chapel, in a sign to the outside world that a pope has at last been elected.