Cardinals from five continents have held the pre-conclave mass, which is the final mass before the start of the conclave to elect a new pope of the Catholic church.
The mass which took place this Wednesday at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican was presided over by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re.
It was the last rite to be celebrated publicly before the Church’s 267th pope is presented to the world from a balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
Recall that a total of 133 cardinal electors are expected to take part in the conclave to pick a successor to Pope Francis, who died last month after a 12-year papacy.