MASERU — Vatican News has announced that the election of a new Pope is expected to resume on Wednesday, following the death of Pope Francis who succumbed to stroke after a two-month hospitalation resulting from bronchitis and pneumonia.
The May 07 date was reached during a closed meeting of cardinals at the Vatican last week.
It also reports that the meeting is expected to be attended by about 135 Cardinals below the age of 80, from across the world and the voting will be conducted in a secret vote.
Furthermore, it is reported that Europe will provide the largest voting bloc with 53 electors, followed by Asia and Oceania, South and Central America, and only 18 from Africa.
The voting of the new Pope will begin with a series of meetings, where after, the Cardinals will be sequestered in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, and these attendees will have no access to their phones, internet and the outside world, and they are not allowed to leave until the voting process is done.
When the election process is over, the people will be notified by the colour of the smoke surface from the chimney of the chapel, and a black smoke indicates that there has not been any consensus while a white smoke announces the declaration of a new Pope…
