00:00Catholic cardinals have set the 7th of May as the start date for the conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor, delaying the secret vote by two days.
00:10Monday's informal meeting to set the date follows the death of Pope Francis, whose funeral was held on Saturday.
00:17According to the Vatican, the date was agreed to give time for the cardinals to get to know each other and find a consensus on a candidate before they are sequestered in the Sistine Chapel.
00:28The closed-door meeting will start inside the chapel and will involve some 135 cardinals from across the world.
00:37Although there is no set time frame for choosing the next Pope, the two conclaves that took place in 2005 and 2013 only lasted two days.
00:48Many cardinals have cited the desire to continue Pope Francis' pastoral focus on people who are marginalised and against war.
