The College of Cardinals will elect the new Bishop of Rome following the death of Pope Francis.
On May 7 the College of Cardinals will meet in Rome inside the Sistine Chapel to elect the new pope, as the death of Pope Francis on April 21 marked the end of the Pontificate of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, better known as Pope Francis. The Italian Serie A, as the Vatican is located in Rome, immediately decided to postpone the games that were due to be played on that Monday, and there is a chance one match might be delayed this weekend as well, as the conclave and the new pope’s election will make millions of pilgrims coming to Rome in few days to celebrate the new Bishop of Rome.
What is the conclave?
The conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals to elect a new pope after the death or resignation of the pope. The word conclave comes from the Latin ‘cum clave’ – with a key – as the tradition is to lock the cardinals inside the Sistine Chapel to ensure the privacy, and the same Cardinals will not be able to have contacts with the outside until a new pope is elected. Only cardinals under 80 years old can participate in the vote as 133 cardinals will be eligible to elect the successor of Pope Francis.
The voting occurs through secrets ballots, requiring a two-thirds majority to elect the new pope. The ballots are burned every two round of votes, with a black smoke showing no decision, and white smoke meaning a new pope was elected. The conclave will only finish when the new pope is elected, who later decides his papal name. The most recent conclave took place in 2013 after the resignation of Benedict XVI and elected Pope Francis in two days.
Serie A schedule
Experts are indicating the new pope should be elected between Thursday and Friday, but in case it will last longer, the match between Lazio and Juventus that will take place on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. ET might be affected due to public security reasons, but as things stand there are no indication of such scenario.
All times U.S./Eastern
Friday, May 9
AC Milan vs. Bologna, 2:45 p.m.(Paramount+)
Saturday, May 10
Como vs. Cagliari, 9 a.m.(Paramount+)
Lazio vs. Juventus, 12 p.m. (Paramount+)
Empoli vs. Parma, 2:45 p.m.(Paramount+)
Sunday, May 11
Udinese vs. Monza, 6:30 a.m.(Paramount+)
Verona vs. Lecce, 9 a.m.(Paramount+)
Torino vs. Inter, 12 p.m. (Paramount+)
Napoli vs. Genoa, 2:45 p.m.(Paramount+)
Monday, May 12
Venezia vs. Fiorentina, 12:30 p.m. (Paramount+)
Atalanta vs. AS Roma, 2:45 p.m.(Paramount+)
