Red-robed cardinals were expected on Monday to pick a date for the conclave to elect a new pope following the demise of Pope Francis.
Dozens of so-called “Princes of the Church” met at 0700 GMT at the Vatican, with speculation growing that the secretive election process could begin on Monday, May 5.
The Church’s 252 cardinals were called back to Rome following the death of Francis on April 21.
Meanwhile, only 135 are aged under 80 and therefore eligible to vote for a new pope.
The cardinals from all corners of the world had four meetings last week, where they began to get better acquainted.
Speaking on the development, a former head of the Italian bishops’ conference, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, 83, said there was a beautiful, fraternal atmosphere during the meetings.
“Of course, there may be some difficulties because the voters have never been so numerous and not everyone knows each other,” Bassetti told Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Pope Francis was laid to rest on Saturday with a funeral and burial ceremony that drew over 400,000 people from across the world to St Peter’s Square and beyond.
