Conclave to elect new Pope set for next week

VATICAN CITY
Channel News Asia

VATICAN CITY: Cardinals from around the globe will hold a conclave to elect a new leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics next week, the Vatican said, although the exact date will be set later on Friday.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said a meeting of cardinals that ends at 1800 GMT would take a vote on the date for the start of the conclave.

“The conclave will be next week. It could be Wednesday. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, maybe even Thursday,” Lombardi said at a press briefing.

The Vatican said all 115 “cardinal electors” who will vote in the conclave are now in Rome.

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