Cardinals hold final mass before conclave to elect pope

BOTH FRANCIS AND HIS PREDECESSOR BENEDICT XVI ELECTED WITHIN TWO DAYS

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Cardinals from five continents held a final mass in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican yesterday before sealing themselves away to elect a new pope to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

A total of 133 cardinal electors are expected to take part in the conclave, the voting process to pick a successor to Pope Francis, who died last month after a 12-year papacy.

No clear frontrunner

No clear frontrunner has emerged from among the prelates — representing a range of progressive and conservative traditions within the Church — and the contest to lead the 2,000-year-old institution appears wide open.