Conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor set to start on May 7, Vatican source says

Originally Published: 28 APR 25 06:54 ET

Updated: 28 APR 25 07:04 ET

By Christopher Lamb, Antonia Mortensen and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN

Rome (CNN) — Cardinals have chosen May 7 as the date to start conclave and elect a new leader for 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, a Vatican source told CNN.

Pope Francis, 88, died of a stroke and heart failure on Easter Monday. He was laid to rest on Saturday at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in a simple tomb as requested by the late pontiff, following a funeral Mass on the steps of the St. Peter’s Basilica that drew heads of state, royalty and hundreds of thousands of mourners.

On Sunday afternoon, some of the cardinals visited the simple, marble tomb with the inscription “Franciscus” to pay homage to the late pontiff. Huge crowds filed past his final resting place in the basilica.

Cardinals on Monday held the first congregation since the funeral of Pope Francis. General congregations are meetings held daily following Francis’ death to discuss church matters and preparations for conclave.

Only cardinals under the age of 80 are allowed to vote in a papal election. There are currently 135 cardinals eligible to participate in the upcoming election.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
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