Following the recent death and burial of Pope Francis, members of the Roman Catholic Church are now waiting earnestly for the election of another spiritual father to direct the affairs of the over 1.4 billion faithful
May 7, 2025 is the deal day. On this date the Conclave will begin in earnest. It is the assemblage of the 135 cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican City, Rome, Italy to begin the process of electing a new Pope to replace late Pope Francis.
As soon as the Conclave begins on May 7, the over 1.4 billion catholic faithful will be hoping, waiting anticipating and looking forward for the emergence of a new Papacy.
The cardinals have agreed to begin a Conclave to elect a new Pope, even as they highlighted clerical sexual abuse as one of the key challenges facing Pope Francis’ successor.
Cardinals under the age of 80, will meet in the Sistine Chapel to choose a new leader for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, in a mystery-shrouded ritual dating back to the Middle Ages.
The date was decided at a meeting of cardinals of all ages late last month, precisely two days after the funeral of Francis who died on April 21, at the age of 88.
According to a Vatican statement, ‘’The cardinals, known as princes of the Church, outlined Catholicism’s most pressing challenges, including evangelisation, the relationship with other faiths and the issue of abuse. There was talk of the qualities that the new pontiff must possess to respond effectively to these challenges”.
A total of 252 Cardinals of the church were recalled to Rome after Pope Francis’ death, but only 135 are eligible to vote in the Conclave.
The Cardinals are Catholic Church leaders who come from different countries of the world, many of whom are not familiar with one another. Already, they have had four meetings at the general congregations, where they began to become better acquainted.
Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, 83, a former head of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, said there was a beautiful fraternal atmosphere.
Bassetti hinted, “Of course, there may be some difficulties because the voters have never been so numerous and not everyone knows each other,” he told Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Late last month, the Vatican closed the Sistine Chapel, where voting will take place under Michelangelo’s 16th-century ceiling frescoes, to begin preparations.
So far, there are a few clues as to who the cardinals might choose.
“I believe that if Francis has been the Pope of surprises, this Conclave will be too, as it is not at all predictable,” Spanish Cardinal Jose Cobo, told El Pais in an interview Sunday.
Pope Francis was laid to rest on Saturday, April 26, 2025 in a ceremony that drew over 400,000 people, including royalty, world leaders and ordinary pilgrims.
On Sunday, April 27, about 70,000 mourners filed past his marble tomb in the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome, after the Pope of the poor as he was addressed, opted to be buried outside the Vatican’s walls.
