With appeal for peace, Francisco’s funeral brings together politicians and thousands of faithful

Visitation to the tomb by the public starts tomorrow at 7am (local time). On Sunday afternoon, all cardinals will also go to the Basilica to visit the tomb of Francis. They will also go to the chapel of the Salus icon (a work that represents the Madona with the boy) and will celebrate the eve, and at 18h will return to the Vatican.

Conclave should be called after May 4th. After a period of nine days, the conclave of cardinals voters can be summoned to choose a successor, within a period that may not exceed the 20 days of the Pope’s death. Thus, the process of choosing the successor begins between May 5 and 10.

Decision to closed doors. The word conclave comes from the junction of the words in Latin “cum” (com) and “clavis” (key), ie a room closed to the key.

Cardinals are prohibited from having contact with the outside world. Cardinals from around the world will meet at a secret assembly in the Vatican Sistine Chapel, under rigid rules that began to be developed in the 13th century. The select group of voters will take an oath in which it promises to keep a secret about the vote and will be forbidden to have contact with the external world.

It is difficult to predict the duration of the election. The reserved character of the meeting makes a prediction of the duration of the election difficult, but Jorge Bergoglio’s choice for the papacy in 2013 happened just over 24 hours from the beginning of the rituals. In the longest conclave of recent history in 1922, the final decision took 5 days.