Cardinals Arrive In Rome As They Prepare To Replace Late Pope Francis

Cardinals have started arriving in Rome to prepare to elect a new Pope.

The Conclave, the ancient ritual to elect a new pontiff, will start on Wednesday, May 7, as they prepare to elect a new leader.

The Cardinals have been settling in the Vatican accommodation, where they will stay during the conclave, and the luxury on display includes en-suite bathrooms and hotel-style room service, even if there are not enough rooms for them all.

Vatican News recently confirmed that 170 Cardinals, including 132 with the right to vote, participated in the 11th General Congregation, a high-level pre-conclave meeting.

According to Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, key themes at the gathering were the faith of migrants, ethnocentrism, ongoing conflicts across Asia and Africa, and the Church’s future in a fractured world.

His words, “The cardinals outlined the figure of a pastoral Pope, with a focus on dialogue and building relationships.”

WOW.

Pope Francis (Latin: Franciscus; Italian: Francesco; Spanish: Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is, as the bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State.

Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III, who reigned in the 8th century.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on 17 December 1936 in Flores, a neighborhood of Buenos Aires. He was the eldest of five children of Mario José Bergoglio (1908–1959) and Regina María Sívori (1911–1981). Mario Bergoglio was an Italian immigrant accountant born in Portacomaro (Province of Asti) in Italy’s Piedmont region.

Regina Sívori was a housewife born in Buenos Aires to a family of northern Italian (Piedmontese-Genoese) origin.