Roman Catholic cardinals will meet in a secret conclave to elect the new leader of the global Church starting from May 7, the Vatican confirmed.
The date to find Pope Francis’s successor is being delayed for two days to help them get to know one another better and find consensus on a candidate before they are sequestered in the Sistine Chapel.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Monday the date was decided during a closed-door meeting, the first since his funeral on Saturday.
Some 135 cardinals, all under the age of 80 and from across the world, are eligible to take part in the conclave and decide who should be the next leader of the Church which has 1.4 billion members.
Previous two conclaves, held in 2005 and 2013, lasted just two days.
The 2024 Oscar-nominated film Conclave starring British actor Ralph Fiennes, and Hollywood stars Isabella Rossellini, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow sparked public interest in the centuries-old process.
British Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the 79-year-old Archbishop of Westminster, was adamant that the church must strive for unity and downplayed divisions.
“The role of the pope is to essentially hold us together and that’s the grace we’ve been given from God,” he said.
Mr Nichols, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, acknowledged that the 135 cardinal electors - 108 of whom were appointed by Francis - don’t know each other very well. The last 20 were appointed in early December.
“We’ve got all week,” Mr Nichols said as he arrived.
Each cardinal casts his vote on a simple card that says in Latin, “I elect as Supreme Pontiff” to which they add their chosen candidate’s name.
If the conclave completes its third day without reaching a decision, cardinals may pause for a day of prayer.
Outside the Sistine Chapel the world will be watching for chimney smoke.
If it’s black, there will be another round of voting. White smoke signals that a new pope has been selected.
Francis was buried in Rome after a funeral ceremony and procession attended by hundreds of thousands of people and many heads of state.
The first South American pontiff - dubbed “the people’s pope” - passed away on Easter Monday aged 88 marking the end of a 12-year papacy.
US President Donald Trump, the Prince of Wales, Sir Keir Starmer, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and France’s Emmanuel Macron all met in the Vatican.
On Monday, images were released of Francis’ tomb at the Santa Maria Maggiore church.
A single white rose was pictured lying on the stone tomb that bears the name he was known by during his pontificate, below a crucifix illuminated by a single spotlight.
