Countdown to conclave: 8 days

Benedictine Abbot Donato Ogliari, abbot of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, center, offered a spiritual meditation April 29, 2025, in the Vatican synod hall to cardinals attending the general congregation before the conclave begins. The abbot is seated between Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, and Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)