March 12th is the date Catholic Cardinals have set as the start date for the conclave to elect the next Pope.

Next Tuesday will begin with a Mass in the morning, followed by the first balloting in the afternoon.

In the past 100 years, no conclave has lasted longer than five days.

There doesn’t appear to be a front-runner in the papal election and the past week of deliberations has exposed sharp divisions among cardinals about some of the pressing problems facing the church, including of governance within the Holy See itself.

Canada’s Marc Cardinal Ouellet is seen as a possible successor to Benedict the 16th.