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

The conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor will start on May 7, the Vatican said on Monday following a closed-door meeting of cardinals at the Vatican, the first since Francis’ funeral on Saturday.

An Italian cardinal who was convicted of embezzlement and fraud said on Tuesday he would not take part in the secret conclave to elect a new pope, as thoughts turned to who will succeed Pope Francis who died last week.