As Saturday’s consistory gets under way, the first time many cardinals will meet may present the opportunity to decide Francis’s successor
On Saturday August 27, cardinals from around the world will gather at the Vatican for a hotly-debated but surprisingly-timed consistory where 20 prelates will join the College of Cardinals, with sixteen under 80 years old and thus qualified to select the next pontiff. Aside from a major legacy-building exercise by Pope Francis (this is the eighth time Francis has named cardinals, with 83 of the 132 cardinal electors now chosen by him) - perhaps ensuring a future head of the Church in his image – this will be the first time many cardinals will have met in person, offering the chance to sound out would-be successors as rumours continue about an imminent papal resignation.
