The date is now set: The conclave to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church will begin on May 7, beneath the painted ceilings of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, in the presence of the 133 cardinal electors (under the age of 80) who are tasked with choosing Francis's successor.

Scattered across the globe, the cardinals did not wait for the news to arrive before making their way to Rome. Following the announcement of the pope's death on the morning of April 21, some began their journeys immediately. It took 30 hours of flying for the Archbishop Emeritus of Wellington, John Atcherley, to arrive. Others came from East Timor, Tanzania, India, Brazil and far afield. This is one of Francis's legacies: The College of Cardinals, to which he appointed 150 members out of a total of 252, is now more representative of the global Church: less European, less Western.

The reason for the haste? The general congregations that began on April 22. Serving as a kind of prelude to the conclave, the purpose of this large assembly of cardinals, whether electors or not, is to reflect on the future of the Catholic Church. Implicitly, it also sketches the profile of the person who will succeed Francis in leading it.

You have 83.44% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.