Conclave to pick next pope to begin May 7, Vatican says

The conclave to select the next pope will begin on Wednesday, May 7, according to the Vatican. 

The date was confirmed Monday by papal spokesman Matteo Bruni following the April 21 death of Pope Francis. 

The Vatican also announced "the Sistine Chapel will be closed to the public from Monday 28 April 2025 for the requirements of the Conclave."

An estimated 200,000 people attended a special Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state.  

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"The shepherd whom the Lord gave to his people, Pope Francis, has ended his earthly life and has left us," Parolin said in his homily. "The grief at his departure, the sense of sadness that assails us, the turmoil we feel in our hearts, the sense of bewilderment: we are experiencing all of this, like the apostles grieving over the death of Jesus. Yet, the Gospel tells us that it is precisely in these moments of darkness that the Lord comes to us with the light of the resurrection, to illuminate our hearts." 

Parolin – a close collaborator of Francis – is considered No. 2 at the Vatican and is one of the possible contenders to be the next pope.

Pope Francis chose his place of burial in St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, near an icon of the Madonna that he revered, because it reflects his "humble, simple and essential" life, the archbishop who administers the basilica said Friday.

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A conclave, organized by the camerlengo, presently Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, begins 15 to 20 days after the pope’s death. 

"Anything could happen," Tim Gabrielli, associate professor and the Gudorf chair in Catholic intellectual traditions at the University of Dayton in Ohio, told Fox News Digital. 

During a conclave, cardinals vote through a secret ballot. A two-thirds majority is required for the election. After each round of submissions, ballots are read aloud and then burned. The ashes are used to notify audiences around the world and onlookers in St. Peter’s Square of the election’s status. 

Black smoke from the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican indicates a new round of voting is set to happen. White smoke signals a new leader of the Roman Catholic Church is selected. 

Fox News' Danielle Wallace, Gabriele Regalbuto, Courtney Walsh-Annesi and the Associated Press contributed to this report.