when is the next papal conclave

There is currently no scheduled date for the next papal conclave, and none can be predicted in advance with certainty. The most recent conclave began on 7 May 2025 to elect the current pope after the death of Pope Francis.

Quick Scoop: How Conclaves Work

• A papal conclave is only called when the See of Rome becomes vacant, usually due to the pope’s death or valid resignation.

• After a pope dies, there is a mourning period (traditionally about nine days, the novemdiales), and then the cardinals set the start date of the conclave, typically around 15–20 days after the death.

• The 2025 conclave, which followed Pope Francis’s death, began on 7 May 2025 in the Sistine Chapel and was convened to elect the 267th pope.

So, when is the next conclave?

• There is no fixed calendar of conclaves; they are strictly tied to whether the papal office becomes vacant.

• Since a conclave already occurred in May 2025 and elected the current pope, any future conclave would only occur if that pope dies or resigns, which is inherently unpredictable and not announced in advance.

In practice: you will only know the date of the next papal conclave after the next papal vacancy is announced and the College of Cardinals meets to set the start date.

TL;DR: You can’t know the date of the next papal conclave yet; the last one started on 7 May 2025, and the next will only be scheduled if and when the current pope dies or resigns.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.