Exit tourists. Enter cardinals. The Vatican has closed the Sistine Chapel, where cardinals will gather for the conclave to elect the next pope after the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at age 88. Francis was buried Saturday after a funeral in St.

After a nine-day mourning period, cardinals will gather to choose the next leader of the Catholic Church. View on euronews

Following the passing of Pope Francis, the Vatican will be closed to tourists during nine days of mourning and the Conclave to elect his successor.

Pope Francis's funeral begins at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. Eastern, 1 a.m. Pacific) at the Vatican, outside St. Peter's Basilica. The ceremony is presided over by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

Hundreds of people filed past the tomb of Pope Francis from early on Sunday morning in the Roman basilica where he chose to be buried in a break from tradition. No pope had been laid to rest outside the Vatican in more than a century,