The College of Cardinals on Wednesday set April 18 as the date for the historic start of the conclave to elect a successor to Pope John Paul II, as the Vatican made final arrangements for the funeral that is expected to draw millions of pilgrims and world leaders to Rome.
The decision came after the cardinals read John Paul's spiritual testament during a pre-conclave meeting.
The cardinals would celebrate a morning Mass on April 18, then be sequestered in the Sistine Chapel in the early afternoon to start the conclave.
According to church law, prelates are expected to hold at least one ballot on the first day of a conclave. If no one gets the required two-thirds majority after about 12 days, cardinals may change procedure and elect the pope by simple majority.
John Paul's spiritual testament, read Wednesday, was a 15-page document written in his native Polish over the course of his pontificate starting in 1976, a year after he was elected.
It did not name the mystery cardinal he created in 2003, ending speculation that a last-minute cardinal might join in the April 18 start of the conclave. Copies of John Paul's testament will be released in Polish and an Italian.
As solar eclipse will take place on on Friday, the same day as the Pope's funeral. Perhaps a fitting tribute for the heavens to darken just a bit with the passing of Pope John Paul II
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To those interested in the activity within the Vatican that takes place when a Pope dies, there is an interesting movie starring Anthony Quinn(made in the late 60's early 70's)entitled "The Shoes of the Fisherman." It is, coincidentally, about an Eastern Bloc Bishop elected as Pope, much to the surprise of the rest of the world that was busy worrying about the consequences of communism, world hunger, and nuclear war, similar issues that faced John Paul II upon his election.
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