The official date for the Vatican conclave to find a replacement for Pope Francis has been announced: May 7.

Following Pope Francis' funeral last Saturday, the Vatican announced the date of the conclave to elect a replacement for the first Latin American pontiff. It will begin next Wednesday, May 7.

Francis was buried on Saturday after a solemn farewell in the presence of international leaders and nearly 400,000 people.

According to CNN , the cardinals have chosen May 7 as the date to begin the conclave and choose the new leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

This Monday, April 28, the cardinals held their first congregation since Pope Francis's funeral. The College of Cardinals will meet daily to discuss ecclesiastical matters and preparations for the conclave.

AFP reported that next Wednesday, the cardinals will participate in a solemn Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, after which those eligible to vote—those under 80— will gather in the Sistine Chapel for a secret ballot that could last several days.

There are currently 135 cardinals eligible to participate in the upcoming elections. Of the total, 80 percent were appointed by Francis. They come from all over the world, and many are unknown to each other.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced the date, as the Vatican Museum announced the closure of the Sistine Chapel, the majestic room adorned with Michelangelo's famous frescoes, located in the Apostolic Palace.

Patricia Spotti, a 68-year-old woman who traveled from Milan to Rome for the Holy Year in 2025, told AFP that she hopes the new pontiff "will be like the pope who passed away. He must have a personality that is open to everyone."

Many faithful fear that the new pope will represent a step backward from the legacy of the Argentine Jesuit, marked by the fight against sexual abuse of minors in the Church, a greater role for women and lay people, and the defense of the poor and migrants.

"Our hope is to find someone who resembles Francis, who is not the same but continues him," Argentine cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi, 66, told the press.

"It's difficult to say what we imagine the profile of the new pope to be," said 83-year-old Italian Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, who does not have the right to vote. There must be "continuity but also forward movement, not just repeating the past."

Spanish Cardinal José Cobo told El País that it will be "unpredictable."

"More than half of us will experience our first conclave. It's an opportunity to show the world that movies like 'Conclave' and others like it aren't reality," Spanish Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero told the official Vatican News.

AFP highlights that the film takes place during the process of electing a new pope, in closed-door meetings. The fictional story plays on the tensions between Vatican factions. But the divisions within the Church are not fictional. The reforms promoted by Francis and his straightforward style have sparked criticism among more conservative sectors, who are pushing for a more doctrinally focused change.

"Today we need to unite, not divide," warned 81-year-old Cardinal Jean Zerbo of Mali on Sunday after a prayer by cardinals at Francis's tomb.

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx expects a conclave of just "a few days." But Roberto Regoli, a professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University, believes it won't be quick. "We are in a period in which Catholicism is experiencing various polarizations," and the cardinals will have to "find someone who knows how to forge greater unity," he said.

With conflicts and diplomatic crises spreading across the world, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin appears to be one of the favorites to be a papal candidate. This cardinal served as Secretary of State under Pope Francis after serving as nuncio to Venezuela. British bookmaker William Hill has him ahead of Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle, followed by Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson and Italian Matteo Zuppi.

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