Catholic cardinals on Monday set May 7 as the start date for the conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor, delaying the secret voting for two days to help them get to know one another better and find consensus on a candidate before they are sequestered in the Sistine Chapel.

The cardinals set the date after arriving for the first day of informal meetings following Pope Francis' funeral Saturday. In a chaotic scene, journalists shouted questions to the cardinals about the mood inside and whether there was unity. A reporter for a satirical Italian television program repeatedly asked whether an Italian cardinal who has been convicted by the Vatican criminal court on finance-related charges would be allowed to vote.

Hours after Pope Francis' death was announced, Israel's Foreign Ministry posted a short message on X: "Rest in peace, Pope Francis. May his memory be a blessing." Several hours later, it was deleted without explanation.

Coming at a time of effusive global mourning over Francis' death, the decision to delete the post appeared to reflect the tensions that have emerged between Israel and the Vatican over Francis' frequent criticism of Israel's conduct during the war in Gaza. The Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the deletion.

It's one of Shakespeare's most existential questions "to be or not to be?" Now a group of globe-trotting Peruvian actors with Down syndrome are tackling it head-on, breaking down prejudice and barriers.

Cristina Leon, Jaime Cruz and Manuel Garcia are members of the eight-strong group currently performing William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" at the Barbican center in London this week until Sunday.

The Vatican was making final preparations Friday for Pope Francis's funeral as the last of the huge crowds of mourners filed through St Peter's Basilica to view his open coffin.

The bells of St. Peter's tolled Wednesday as the body of Pope Francis was transferred from the Vatican hotel where he lived into the basilica, escorted by a procession of solemn cardinals and Swiss Guards through the same piazza where the pontiff had greeted the faithful from his popemobile just days before in what became his final good-bye.

Pallbearers carried the simple wooden coffin on their shoulders through the Vatican's archway gates, out into St. Peter's Square and into the basilica, the cardinals in their scarlet cassocks, bishops in their purple robes and the Swiss Guards in their golden and blue uniforms processing slowly behind.

The Italian national Olympic committee has asked for sports events to be suspended on Saturday, the day of Pope Francis' funeral.

After the government declared five days of national mourning, the Olympic committee, known by its Italian initials CONI, requested Tuesday for Saturday's events to be suspended and for a minute of silence to take place at other sporting events.

A change in popes — through death or resignation — is a complicated process, with centuries-old rituals involving the transition in leadership for both the spiritual head of the global Catholic Church and the Vatican's head of state.

These are the need-to-know terms — some of them in Latin — to help make sense of news in the coming days:

The death of Pope Francis has sent shockwaves through Iraq's Christian community, where his presence once brought hope after one of the darkest chapters in the country's recent history.

His 2021 visit to Iraq, the first ever by a pope, came after years of conflict and displacement. Just a few years before that, many Iraqi Christians had fled their homes as Islamic State militants swept across the country.

His predecessor loved Mozart, but Pope Francis's passion was football, for him "the most beautiful game" and also a vehicle to educate and spread peace.

From Argentine compatriots Lionel Messi and the late Diego Maradona to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gianluigi Buffon, Francis received the greatest stars of football at the Vatican, signing dozens of shirts and balls from around the world.

Pope Francis, who died on Monday, had an informal, lighthearted speaking style, and sometimes he even created words in a combination of his native Spanish with the Italian that he spoke as pope.

Some of his memorable quotes: