VATICAN CITY, April 29, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Catholic cardinals will be locked up for the papal conclave but for preparatory meetings this week they must run the gauntlet of journalists desperate for insights into who will be the next pope.

"Your Eminence! Your Eminence!" shout reporters in front of Bernini's colonnade, a few steps from the majestic St Peter's Square, as the "Princes of the Church" meet every morning at 9:00am (0700 GMT).

The Catholic Church's 252 cardinals have been called back to Rome following the death on April 21 of Pope Francis, the charismatic reformer who had led the world's 1.4 billion Catholics since 2013.

Among them, 135 are under the age of 80 and thus eligible to elect his successor in a conclave starting on May 7, but cardinals of all ages are invited to this week's meetings.

Surrounded by a swarm of cameras, smartphones and microphones, the cardinals in black cassocks and red skullcaps struggle to make their way into the Paul VI Hall where the "general congregations" are held.

Most walk past with their eyes fixed on the floor but some offer a few nuggets to the waiting press pack -- although rarely any real insights.

"There is a fraternal and sincere atmosphere, therefore a spirit of responsibility to seek somebody who continues the work of Francis," Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako of Iraq told reporters on Tuesday.

Others make polite conversation. "Look at the sky! What beautiful weather we have this morning," one said, a smile on his lips.

Italian Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, considered one of the favourites to replace Francis, walked quickly alongside the edge of a building to St Peter's Square, where interviews are not allowed.
- 'Revenge and alliances' -

The big question is whether the next pope will continue along the path set by Francis -- who implemented reforms of the Vatican and saw the Church as the champion of the most vulnerable -- or change direction.

In his homily at a mass at St Peter's Basilica on Monday afternoon, as part of nine days of mourning for Francis, Italian Cardinal Baldassare Reina had a clear message for his peers.

"This cannot be the time for balancing acts, tactics, caution, the time to indulge the instinct to go back -- or worse, for revenge and alliances of power," he said.

Much of the talk on Tuesday was also about Angelo Becciu, a once powerful Italian cardinal stripped of his privileges by Pope Francis and convicted in 2023 of financial crimes.

There had been much speculation as to whether he would be allowed to vote in the conclave.

But through his lawyer, he confirmed he would not.

"I have decided to obey -- as I have always done -- the will of Pope Francis not to enter into conclave," Becciu said, while continuing to protest his innocence.