The world's Catholic cardinals met on Monday for the first time after the funeral of Pope Francis to discuss a possible date to enter a secret conclave and elect the next leader of the global Church.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Catholic cardinals on Monday set May 7 as the start date for the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor, delaying the secret voting for two days to help them get to know one another better and find consensus on a candidate before they are sequestered in the Sistine Chapel.

Pope Francis's death at the age of 88 means the Catholic Church must choose a new leader. Here's how cardinals elect the next pontiff at the conclave.

Catholic cardinals have begun preparations for a conclave to elect the next pope following Francis' death, as debates over reform versus tradition emerge.

Hundreds of thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, a day after Pope Francis' funeral, for another ceremony to honour him on the second of nine official days of mourning for the global Catholic Church.

Hundreds of thousands converged on Vatican City to pay tribute to the late pontiff, who died at the age of 88 on Monday.

After attending Pope Francis’s funeral Saturday and as they begin pre-conclave meetings to discuss the state of the world and the church ahead of electing his successor, the world’s cardinals gathered at Francis’s tomb to pray.

By Giselda Vagnoni and Cristiano Corvino ROME (Reuters) -Thousands of people filed past the tomb of Pope Francis from early on Sunday morning, packing the Roman basilica where he had chosen to be buried in a break from tradition.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re delivered the homily to a crowd of thousands at the funeral of Pope Francis at St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Saturday.