VATICAN CITY
Whispers in the Loggia
The General Congregation having opened at 9.30 this morning, the first daily gathering of all the cardinals – over-80s included – is set to run ’til 1.30. After a break for lunch and riposo, an unusual evening session will start at 5.30.
As of last hearing, an announcement on a Conclave start-date is deemed likely to not emerge today. Under the norms of the 11th-hour motu proprio which now allows the college to ditch the standard 15-day waiting period from the moment a vacancy is triggered, all participating cardinal-electors must be present before the body can debate and eventually set the timetable by a majority vote.
While it’s unclear whether this interregnum will follow the last one in seeing an interview “blackout” agreed to by the cardinals until the election begins, in a first, an official briefing on the morning meeting is expected this afternoon.
(SVILUPPO: At the briefing following the first session, it was disclosed that 12 electors still have yet to arrive, including three of the influential, four-member German delegation. Ergo, as expected, no Conclave date can be decided until tomorrow at the earliest, or whenever all 115 expected voters are duly on-hand.)
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