Novemdiales Notebook
With the Vatican announcing that the conclave will start on May 7th, Rome is now well into the nine day official period of mourning for a Pope - the "Novemdiales". The public queue to see the tomb of Pope Francis in the papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore - around three miles from Vatican City, not far from the Colloseum - opens at 7am each morning and the church stays open until 9pm. The line is monitored by uniformed Order of Malta medics and local carabinieri in full uniform.
