Catholic cardinals Monday picked May 7 as the day to begin the search for a new Pope.
Cardinals who will participate in the secret ballot are expected to arrive at the Vatican on May 5 and have two days of deliberations before going into the Sistine Chapel for the voting. Only cardinals under 80 are eligible to vote, and it is not clear how many of the 135 will participate.
Pope Francis, 88, died on Easter Monday after a long battle with illness. He was buried last Saturday with world leaders attending the funeral at St Peter Square.
Many cardinals cited the desire to continue Francis’ pastoral focus on people who are marginalized and against war. But conservatives may be more focused on forging unity and refocusing the church back on core doctrines emphasized by St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, rather than continuing Francis’ social justice focus and outreach to women and gays.
British Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the 79-year-old archbishop of Westminster, was adamant that the church must strive for unity, and he downplayed divisions.
“The role of the pope is to essentially hold us together and that’s the grace we’ve been given from God,” Nichols said.
Venezuelan Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo expressed confidence that once the conclave begins, a decision would be quick, “between two and three days.”
