Your browser is: WebKit 537.36. This browser is out of date so some features on this site might break. Try a different browser or update this browser. Learn more.

Vatican’s Secretive Conclave to Pick Next Pope Starts May 7

Cardinals in Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, Rome, on April 27.

Photographer: Vatican Pool WO/Getty Images 

Takeaways NEW

The Vatican’s cardinals’ assembly, known as the General Congregation, has chosen May 7 as the starting date for the highly secretive election that will choose the next pope, the Holy See said on Monday.

More than 100 senior clergy members will take part in a conclave to cast ballots for the pontiff to succeed Pope Francis, who died on April 21. They’ll meet in the Sistine Chapel for a closely watched election whose outcome is highly unpredictable.