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

A cardinal convicted of financial crimes by the Vatican is claiming he can take part in the forthcoming conclave despite being listed as a “non-elector.”

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.