|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
133 cardinals from 90 nations have gathered in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City Italy for the papal conclave 2025.
The conclave convened on Wednesday afternoon, exactly 16 days after the death of 88-year-old Pope Francis. Results of the first secret ballot are expected any moment.
The cardinal electors faced a stark choice selecting a pontiff who will emulate Pope Francis, an Argentine reformer who advocated for migrants and the environment, or one who will guide the Catholic Church down a more traditional path.
The Vatican said this year’s conclave will be the largest ever. 133 cardinals are participating of which 108 are ’’novices’’ who have never taken part before in the selection of a new Pope.
The exact number required to elect the Pope also changes based on the total number of electors in attendance. Only five cardinals; Philippe Barbarin of France, Josip Bozanic of Croatia, Peter Erdo of Hungary, Vinco Pulic of Bosnia and Peter Turkson of Ghana are present in the conclave this year voted in the year 2005 and 2013.
