Cardinals are meeting today, Monday, at the Vatican to choose a date for the conclave that will select Pope Francis' successor.
So far there is little indication of who they might choose as successor to Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88.
"I believe that if Francis was the 'surprise Pope', this Conclave will also be a surprise, as it is not at all predictable," said Spanish Cardinal José Cobo, in an interview published on Sunday.
In the interview with El Pais, it is pointed out that many Cardinals come from countries outside Europe and have not even met each other.
Francis was buried on Saturday and since yesterday a crowd has been gathering at his burial site in Santa Maria Maggiore.
Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the second in line, is for many the favorite to succeed him and according to betting companies he is slightly ahead of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines and followed by Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana.
Roberto Regoli, professor of Church history and culture at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, said the cardinals would seek "to find someone who knows how to forge the greatest possible unity."
The Conclave may convene on May 5 or 6, shortly after the nine days of papal mourning, which end on May 4.
There are 252 Cardinals, but only 135 of them are under 80 years old and therefore eligible to vote for a new Pope.
About 80% of the cardinal electors were appointed by Francis, although that is no guarantee that they will choose a successor like him.
Most are relatively young and for many it is their first Conclave.
The vote takes place in the Sistine Chapel and the process could take several days or longer.
There are four votes a day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority.
Less than half of those eligible to vote are Europeans.
"The future Pope must love all the continents. We must not consider the color, the origin, but the one who is proposed," said Cardinal Diedon Enzapalinga from the Central African Republic.
Source: KYPE
