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.

Catholic cardinals agreed on Monday to begin a conclave on May 7 to elect a new pope, and highlighted clerical sexual abuse as one of the key challenges facing Pope Francis’s successor. Cardinals under the age of 80 will meet in the Sistine Chapel to choose a new leader for the world’s 1.

The conclave — where cardinals worldwide converge in Vatican City to elect a new pontiff, following Pope Francis' death — will begin May 7, per the Vatican