Cardinals arriving for the first day of meetings after Pope Francis’ funeral were swarmed at the city-state’s gates by journalists eager for hints of whether any consensus is building around the election of a successor.

The world's Catholic cardinals met on Monday for the first time after the funeral of Pope Francis to discuss a possible date to enter a secret conclave and elect the next leader of the global Church.

Foreign Correspondent Maggie Rulli and Colleen Dulle, an associate editor at America magazine, joins ABC News Live to discuss the ancient ritual of selecting a pope.

The Vatican is closing the Sistine Chapel to the public as part of its preparations for the the conclave to elect the next pope after the death of Pope Francis.

The Vatican has closed the Sistine Chapel as preparations begin for the conclave that will elect the next pope following the death of Pope Francis, who passed away on 21 April aged 88. The pope was laid to rest on Saturday after a funeral Mass in St Peter’s Square that drew world leaders and hundreds of thousands of mourners.