Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David will depart for Rome on Thursday, April 24 to attend the funeral of Pope Francis and participate in the upcoming papal conclave, a historic event that will determine the next leader of the Catholic Church.

The funeral for Pope Francis, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, is expected to bring together thousands of faithful, clergy, and world leaders in solemn remembrance of a pope who reshaped the papacy with humility, compassion, and a deep commitment to the margins.

“Before the papal conclave, syempre [ang punta natin sa Rome ay] ‘yung funeral muna ng ating mahal na santo papa na magaganap sa Sabado,” David said in a GMA interview on Wednesday, April 23.

(Before the papal conclave, of course, our reason for going to Rome is the funeral first of our beloved Holy Father, which will take place on Saturday).

Following the funeral, the Church will enter a period of mourning and discernment leading to the conclave.

Traditionally, the conclave begins 15 to 20 days after a pope’s death, but the schedule may vary.

“Nagbibilang tayo ng 15 to 20 days pagkamatay ng Santo Papa para masimulan ang conclave. Syempre nagbabago ‘yun depende sa availability ng cardinal electors na manggagaling sa iba’t ibang sulok ng daigdig,” David, who is also the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), explained.

(We count about 15 to 20 days after the death of the Holy Father before the conclave begins. Of course, that can change depending on the availability of the cardinal electors from different parts of the world).

At least two-thirds of the cardinal electors must be present for the voting process to proceed, he added.

This will be Cardinal David’s first time as a papal elector. Other electors from the Philippines are Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Cardinal Jose Advincula.

David also clarified common misconceptions about the nature of the conclave, particularly the idea that cardinal electors will be “locked up” inside the Sistine Chapel.

“The better word is mag-re-retreat. Kasi ganoon ang eleksyon para sa simbahang Katolika. Malayo tayo sa kilala nating mga eleksyon na maingay na maraming kumakandidato at may tarpaulin, may ayuda, at kung ano-ano pa. Walang ganyan sa halalan ng santo papa,” he said.

(The better word is retreat. Because that’s what an election is like in the Catholic Church. It is very far from the kind of elections we are used to—loud, with many candidates, campaign tarpaulins, handouts, and all sorts of things. There is none of that in the election of a pope).

David pointed out that the context of the conclave is deeply spiritual.

“Ito ay isang retreat dahil ang mahalaga ay hindi ‘yung malaman namin kung sino ang iboboto namin kundi gusto ng Panginoon na piliin namin. We will do that sa konteksto ng prayer and discernment,” he added.

(It is a retreat because what is important is not that we figure out who to vote for, but that we allow the Lord to guide us in choosing. We do that in the context of prayer and discernment).

David added that the term conclave itself comes from the Spanish root word clave, meaning “key,” which symbolizes the seclusion of the cardinals in a space where only they are present, fully focused on prayer.