The Conclave to elect Pope Francis's successor will start on May 7, Vatican Press Office Director Matteo Bruni said Monday.
The date was set during a congregation of cardinals, from whom the new leader of the Catholic Church will be chosen.
Bruni said around 180-190 cardinals were present at the congregation, including around 100 cardinal electors, who are aged under 80 and are eligible to take part in the conclave.
There are 135 cardinal electors in total, but one has been ruled out by ill health, so 134 will choose the 267th leader of the world's over 1.4 billion Catholics.
The Vatican Museums said that the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave will take place, is closed to the public as of Monday.
The first vote will take place on the afternoon of May 7, with the first plume of smoke - black if no cardinal has been elected, white if one has.
Recent conclaves have been fairly short, a matter of days..
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