The Vatican’s cardinals’ assembly, known as the General Congregation, has chosen May 7 as the starting date for the highly secretive election that will choose the next pope, the Holy See said on Monday.

Catholic cardinals agreed on Monday to begin a conclave on May 7 to elect a new pope, and highlighted clerical sexual abuse as one of the key challenges facing Pope Francis’s successor. Cardinals under the age of 80 will meet in the Sistine Chapel to choose a new leader for the world’s 1.

The Holy See Press Office announced on Monday that the conclave to elect a new Pope will begin on May 7. “The Cardinals present in Rome made the decision on Monday at their fifth General Congregation.