The Church moves into a historic new chapter as the College of Cardinals announced Monday that the papal conclave to elect the successor to Pope Francis will begin on May 7, 2025.
The announcement came after a morning general congregation meeting at the Vatican, “where cardinals have been gathering daily since Pope Francis’ burial at St. Mary Major Basilica on April 26,” according to Catholic News Agency (CNA).
In keeping with tradition, the date falls within the customary 15- to 20-day window following a pope’s death, ensuring that the Church had time for the “Novendiales” mourning period and for all cardinal electors to arrive in Rome. Of the 134 eligible voting cardinals — those under 80 years of age — “nearly all have already arrived in Rome. The remaining few are expected within days,” Vatican sources confirmed (CNA).
Before the cardinals enter into the Sistine Chapel, they will first offer the “Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff” in St. Peter’s Basilica on the morning of May 7. Following the Mass, the cardinals will process into the Sistine Chapel chanting the traditional “Veni Creator Spiritus,” invoking the guidance of the Holy Spirit for their solemn task.
Once inside the chapel, where Michelangelo’s magnificent frescoes, including The Last Judgment, loom overhead, each cardinal elector will swear an oath to follow the prescribed procedures, to maintain secrecy, and to vote freely according to his conscience. Afterward, the Sistine Chapel doors will be sealed, and the world will wait in prayerful anticipation.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside over the conclave. A two-thirds majority — 90 votes — is necessary to elect the new Holy Father (CNA).
The world will once again turn its eyes to the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, watching for the ancient signal: black smoke for an inconclusive vote, white smoke to announce, Habemus Papam! — we have a pope.
Pope Francis himself dramatically reshaped the College of Cardinals during his pontificate, appointing 108 of the 134 voting cardinals. His appointments diversified the body by elevating cardinals from regions and countries previously underrepresented in papal elections. As CNA notes, the college now “includes representatives from countries with small Catholic populations and from regions previously underrepresented.”
As the universal Church prays and waits, Catholics are encouraged to ask the Holy Spirit to guide the cardinal electors to choose a new shepherd after the Heart of Christ.
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