The Vatican has said it expects the ceremony to take place sometime between Friday and Sunday. In a break from tradition, Francis confirmed in his final testament released on Monday that he wished to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major and not St Peter’s Basilica.
The gathering of cardinals will also review the day-to-day running of the Church in the period before a new pope is elected.
A conclave to choose a new pope normally takes place 15 to 20 days after the death of a pontiff, meaning it should not start before May 6. Some 135 cardinals are eligible to participate in the highly secretive ballot which can stretch over days.
At present there is no clear frontrunner to succeed Francis.
PROGRESSIVE
Pope Francis inherited a Church in disarray and worked hard to overhaul the Vatican’s central administration, root out corruption and, after a slow start, confront the scourge of child abuse within the ranks of the priesthood.
He often clashed with conservatives, nostalgic for a traditional past, who saw Francis as overly liberal and too accommodating to minority groups, such as the LGBTQ community.
Francis appointed nearly 80 per cent of the cardinal electors scattered across the world who will choose the next pope, increasing, but not guaranteeing, the possibility that his successor will continue his progressive policies.
Many of the cardinals are little known outside their own countries and they will have a chance to get to know one another at meetings known as General Congregations that take place in the days before a conclave starts and where a profile of the qualities needed for the next pope will take shape.
The Vatican said late Monday that staff and officials within the Holy See could immediately start to pay their respects before the pope’s body at the Santa Marta residence, where Francis set up home in 2013, shunning the grand, apostolic palace his predecessors had lived in.
His body could be moved to St Peter’s Basilica as early as Wednesday morning for the faithful to visit, the Vatican said.
