CITIZENS COMPASS– The Roman Catholic Church has concluded plans to elect another Pope.
The Church said activities for the election will commence on May 7, 2025, following the death of Pope Francis on April 21.
Vatican has confirmed the new election date.
The decision was made during a private meeting of cardinals at the Vatican on Monday, just two days after the funeral of Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21 at the age of 88.
A total of 135 cardinals from around the world, all under the age of 80, are eligible to participate in the secret vote to choose the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church, which has 1.4 billion members.
To prepare for the conclave, the Vatican closed the famous Sistine Chapel on Monday, as this is where the voting will take place. The cardinals will cast their votes in private, and the process will be supervised by nine cardinals who are randomly selected. A two-thirds majority is needed to elect the new pope, and voting will continue until a candidate reaches this majority.
After each voting round, the ballots are burned. If no decision is made, the smoke will be black, but if a new pope is elected, white smoke will appear. Once a new pope is chosen, a senior cardinal will announce his name from Saint Peter’s Basilica.
