According to the Vatican, the conclave to choose the next Pope will begin on Wednesday, May 7th.
The date was confirmed Monday by Pope Francis’s spokesman, Matteo Bruni, after his death on April 21.
The Vatican also announced that “Sistine Chapel will be closed to the public from Monday, April 28, 2025 due to conclave requirements.”
An estimated 200,000 people attended a special mass at St. Peter’s Cathedral on Sunday by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State.
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Pope Francis will perform at the central lodge of St. Peter’s Cathedral and will give his blessings at the end of Easter Mass. Easter Mass was main sided by the Angelo Comastri Cardinal, located in St. Peter Square, Vatican, on Sunday, April 20th. (AP/Gregorio Borgia)
“Pope Francis, the shepherd the Lord gave to his people, ended his earthly life and left us,” Parolyn said in his Homily. “The sadness upon his departure, the sense of sorrow that stroves us, the sense of confusion and embarrassment we feel in our hearts: we are experiencing all this, just as our apostles grieve over Jesus’ death. But the gospel tells us that we are in these moments of darkness that the Lord is illuminating us that he is resurrected.
Francis’ close collaborator, Parolyn, is considered second in the Vatican and is one of the candidates who could become the next Pope.
Pope Francis chose a burial site at the Cathedral of Major St. Mary in Rome, near the icon of Madonna he admired.
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The Cardinals arrive on Sunday, April 27th to pay tribute to the tomb of the late Pope Francis inside the St. Mary’s Major Basilica in Rome. (AP/Bernat Armangue)
The Conclave, hosted by the current Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, Camerlengo, begins 15-20 days after the Pope’s death.
Gudolph’s Chairman Tim Gabrielli, Associate Professor of Catholic Intellectual Tradition at Dayton University, Ohio, told Fox News Digital.
During the Conclave, the Cardinals vote through secret voting. An election requires a two-thirds majority. After each round of submission, the vote is read aloud and then burned. Ashes are used to notify viewers around the world, notifying those who are difficult to see in St. Peter’s Square of election status.
People will attend the masses where the Vatican Secretary of State is mourning, second in the late Pope Francis’ nine-day mourning in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Sunday, April 27th. (AP/AndreeaAlexandru)
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Black smoke from the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican indicates a new round of votes will occur. A new leader of the White Smoke Signal Roman Catholic Church will be chosen.
Danielle Wallace, Gabriele Regalbuto, Courtney Walsh-Annesi and the Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.
