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.

The Vatican is closing the Sistine Chapel to the public as part of preparations for the conclave to elect the next pope after the death of Francis