Conclave to elect new pope to begin on May 7
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, leads the fifth general congregation meeting of cardinals in the New Synod Hall at the Vatican on April 28, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
The cardinals will first celebrate the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff in St Peter’s Basilica that morning before processing into the Sistine Chapel that evening.
The Vatican Museums announced that the Sistine Chapel would be closed to visitors beginning April 28 to allow preparations for the conclave to begin. The preparations include the installation of a stove to burn the cardinals’ ballots and a chimney on the roof to signal the election results to the world.
The date for the conclave was set during the fifth general congregation meeting of cardinals on April 28. More than 180 cardinals attended the April 28 meeting, including more than 100 cardinal electors.
Two cardinal electors eligible to vote in the conclave will not participate due to health reasons. They are Spanish Cardinal Antonio Cañizares and Kenyan Cardinal John Njue. Their respective archdioceses announced that they would not be travelling to the conclave.
Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was convicted of financial crimes by the Vatican, said on April 29 that he will not take part in the conclave. Cardinal Becciu was ordered by Pope Francis in 2020 to resign the “rights and privileges” of a cardinal after he became embroiled in a financial scandal. The cardinal, who has always maintained his innocence, launched an appeal that is currently still under consideration.
Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa OFMCap, the retired preacher of the papal household, will offer a meditation inside the Sistine Chapel before members of the conclave begin to vote. Because Cardinal Cantalamessa is 90 years old, he is not eligible to participate in the voting.
Cardinal Sir John Ribat of Papua New Guinea told the Post-Courier newspaper that his vote at the conclave will be for the interest of Catholics in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.
FULL STORY
Conclave to elect next pope will begin May 7 – OSV News (By Justin McLellan/CNS)
Giovanni Angelo Becciu: Convicted Italian cardinal pulls out of conclave to choose new pope | CNN (CNN)
Cardinal Becciu renounces participation in upcoming conclave – Vatican News (Vatican News)
Cardinals choose prelates to offer reflections on church, future pope | USCCB (CNS)
Pacific cardinal says his Pope vote will consider Catholics in PNG, Solomon Islands | RNZ News (Radio New Zealand)
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