Vatican Sets Date for Papal Conclave Amid Drama Over Whether Convicted Cardinal Can Attend

The conclave to elect Pope Francis‘ successor will start on May 7, the Vatican said on Monday following a closed-door meeting of cardinals at the Vatican, the first since Francis’ funeral on Saturday.

The secretive conclave, in which roughly 130 cardinals from around the world gather in the Sistine Chapel to elect the next Catholic Church leader is already prompting real movie-worthy drama.

Italian journalists on Monday were asking Vatican officials if Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who has been convicted of financial crimes by the Vatican – and was once one of its most powerful figures – will be taking part in the proceedings.

Though Becciu was ordered by Pope Francis in 2020 to give up his “rights and privileges” as a cardinal after he became embroiled in a Vatican financial scandal involving a multi-million-dollar investment in luxury London real estate that cost the Holy See losses of roughly $150 million, the convicted cardinal is claiming he has a right to take part in the conclave since he was never formally removed from the College of Cardinals. Even after being found guilty by a Vatican court Becciu has maintained his innocence and appealed his conviction.

The case was discussed Monday by cardinals during the closed meeting but there was “no resolution,” the Vatican said.

Interestingly, 108 of the cardinal electors have been chosen by Francis and largely reflect his vision of a more inclusive church. A two-thirds majority is needed to elect a new pope.

As for who the front-runner is to be the next pontiff, there are several names being bandied around, one being Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi who is president of the Episcopal Conference of Italy.

But Christopher Lamb, who is CNN’s Vatican Correspondent, told Variety late last week that the race is still very open and underlined the fact that the provenance of papal contenders has changed.

“Some of them come from parts of the world that never had cardinals before; it’s very internationalized. You’ve got the Cardinals from Tonga, Haiti, Central Africa, Mongolia. I think there’s a lot of unpredictability,” he said.

Just like in the Edward Berger movie “Conclave,” starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci, during the conclave electors are kept isolated from outsiders for the duration and observers keep a close watch on the Sistine Chapel’s chimney to learn if a new pope has been elected after each round of voting. If the smoke is black, the consensus has not been reached. When the new pope has been picked the smoke is white and bells are also rung. During the last conclave, in 2013, Francis was elected in two days.

Pope Francis’s death on April 21 resulted in a surge of people watching Berger’s “Conclave” from home, as Variety has reported. The film was also re-released theatrically in Italy last week.