Dean of the cardinals is called Giovanni Battista Re and is 91 years old. The Mass will take place in the Basilica of St. Peter, on May 7
The Mass that marks the beginning of the new Pope’s electoral conclave will be presided by the dean of cardinals and the oath of employees and religious who will accompany the work will be celebrated on Monday, the Vatican announced on Tuesday.
According to the Vatican press room, the mass that will mark on May 7 The beginning of the conclave will be presided by Giovanni Battista Re, 91, a dean of the Cardinal College in the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome.
Two days earlier, in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, the oath of officers and religious who will help with the work of the cardinals will take place.
“All those who will be assigned to the next conclave, both ecclesiastical and layman” must “provide and subscribe to the prescribed oath,” says Vatican’s press services.
In an extensive list includes the secretary of the Cardinal College, masters of ceremonies, the assistant of each cardinal, religious, doctors and nurses, who works in the elevators of the palace, canteen staff and cleaning services, florists, security guards and those responsible for transporting cardinals between the sistine chapel and the house of Santa Marta, where the more than 130 voters will reside.
This Tuesday, after another meeting of the general congregations [encontros de cardeais que decorrem durante a Sé Vacante para fazer a gestão corrente do Vaticano]the college thanked the presence at the Pope’s funeral of the “leaders of the non -Catholic churches and ecclesial communities.”
In the final statement of thanks, the Cardinian collective also thanked the presence of the rulers, an extensive list that includes the president, prime minister, president of the Assembly of the Republic and Portuguese Foreign Minister.
The presence of world political leaders “was particularly appreciated as a participation in the pain of the church and the Holy See for the death of the Pope and as a tribute to his incessant commitment to faith, peace and fraternity among all peoples of the earth.”
In addition, the cardinals wanted to “thank the Italian authorities, the city of Rome, the security services, the Civil Defense, the media, the media and the workers, including the employees of the Holy See and the Vatican City Government, who contributed, with great commitment and generosity, to the preparation of all that was necessary”.
“Thanks to his work, everything took place with order and tranquility,” write the cardinals in the statement.
