Cardinals from US, Canada receive ceremonial sendoff ahead of conclave

U.S. and Canadian cardinals received a warm sendoff on Tuesday (May 6) as they departed the Pontifical North American College in Rome ahead of the papal conclave that begins on Wednesday (May 7).
Some of the 133 cardinals expected to enter the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday for the conclave, began checking into two Vatican hotels on Tuesday, where they will be barred from contact with the outside world as they decide who should succeed Pope Francis.
The conclave will start behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday afternoon, with all cardinals under the age of 80 able to vote on who should be the next leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church.
The race to succeed Francis, who died last month, is seen as wide open. Although a few names have been cited as possible front-runners, several of the 133 cardinals expected to vote in the conclave have said they do not know who will become the next pope.