New Pope, today the Congregations for the date of the Conclave: here is what they are

The General Congregation of Cardinals will meet at 9 a.m. and will have to decide the starting date of the Conclave, which can begin between fifteen days after the beginning of the sede vacante or at most twenty days later. The date of the Conclave should therefore be set between 5 and 10 May.

The Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Grecis, drafted by John Paul II in 1996 and then amended in 2013 by Pope Francis, establishes the rules to be observed "concerning the vacancy of the Apostolic See and the election of the Roman Pontiff".

The Constitution states that the College of Cardinals is 'entrusted with the government of the Church solely for the conduct of ordinary business or business that cannot be postponed and for the preparation of all that is necessary for the election of the new Pope'.

It also indicates how cardinals are to dress during the General Congregations with "the usual black threaded cassock and red sash, with zucchetto, pectoral cross and ring". The Congregations must "establish the day, the hour and the manner in which the body of the deceased Pontiff will be brought to the Vatican Basilica, to be exposed to the homage of the faithful"; and "all that is necessary for the funeral of the deceased Pontiff, which must be celebrated for nine consecutive days, and fix the beginning of the funeral so that the burial will take place, except for special reasons, between the fourth and sixth day after the death".

The task of the Congregation is also to arrange for "the assignment by lot of the rooms to the Cardinal electors; they are to establish the day and time for the beginning of the voting operations".