Tagle selected to assist in conclave preparations

CARDINAL Luis Antonio Tagle was selected to join the "Particular Congregation," a small body that manages day-to-day matters during the sede vacante — the period when the Holy See is vacant.

His appointment came during the fifth session of the General Congregation, the larger assembly of cardinals tasked with major decisions during the transitional period, on April 28.

The Particular Congregation is composed of the camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church and three cardinals, who are elected every three days by the General Congregation, as outlined in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, the document governing papal elections.

Joining Tagle are Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising and coordinator of the Council for the Economy, and French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura.

Tagle and Mamberti are widely regarded in media circles as papabile — potential frontrunners for the papacy.

Mamberti, as the cardinal proto-deacon, will also have the honor of announcing the name of the new pope from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

The College of Cardinals confirmed that the conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor will begin on May 7.

On the morning of that day, the cardinals will celebrate the traditional "Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff" in St. Peter's Basilica.

Cardinals under the age of 80 will meet in the Sistine Chapel to choose a new leader for the world's 1.4 billion Catholics in a mystery-shrouded ritual dating back to the Middle Ages.

The date was decided at a meeting of cardinals of all ages early on Monday, two days after the funeral of Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88.

The cardinals, known as "Princes of the Church," outlined Catholicism's most pressing challenges, including "evangelization, the relationship with other faiths, (and) the issue of abuse," the Vatican said.

"There was talk of the qualities that the new pontiff must possess to respond effectively to these challenges," it added.

The Church's 252 cardinals were recalled to Rome after the Argentine pontiff's death, although only 135 are eligible to vote in the conclave.

They hail from all corners of the globe, and many of them do not know each other.

But they already had four meetings last week, so-called "general congregations," where they began to become better acquainted.

With AFP