ROME – After attending Pope Francis’s funeral Saturday and as they begin pre-conclave meetings to discuss the state of the world and the church ahead of electing his successor, the world’s cardinals gathered at Francis’s tomb to pray.

Speaking to journalists ahead of an April 27 Vespers service at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where Pope Francis is buried, Irish Cardinal Sean Brady said he remembered the Argentinian pontiff “with great joy and happiness and gratitude to God, who had given us such a wonderful pope for twelve years.”

“We pray that the Lord will have mercy on his soul and will send us just as good of a pope next time,” he said.

Brady, 85, is one of 252 living cardinals, 135 of whom are under the age of 80 and are therefore eligible to vote in the conclave, the date for which has not yet been set.

Members of the College of Cardinals came to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on Sunday afternoon to pay homage to Pope Francis after his funeral and burial service Saturday, and to pray Vespers together at his tomb as they contemplate who his successor might be.

As they were unloaded from three large buses near the basilica, a few of the cardinals made brief remarks to journalists waiting outside, insisting on the need to prioritize the Gospel and to see the Church as a global institution, rather than getting overly invested in politics or nationality.

Cardinal Jean Zerbo of Mali, 81, said the cardinals were happy to visit Francis’s tomb, and praised the pope’s consistent message that “we are all created by God, and he was very attentive to the smallest and he shared (their plight).”

Asked whether he thought the Church was ready for an African pope, Zerbo said, “We should be open. For me, we are the Church, not Africa, not Europe, not America, the Church is for all mankind.”

The Church, Zerbo said, right now needs “to truly follow the orientation of the pope who left us,” and the diversity of the College of Cardinals, following the many appointees of Francis, “is a richness, it’s a wealth.”

“The Church is of Christ, it is not for one group, not for Europe, not for Africa, not for Asia. The Church is for everyone, God is for everyone,” he said.

Zerbo referred to discussion about whether the Church would be more conservative or progressive after Francis, saying, “I don’t like these divisions, if one is conservative or not. No.”

Neither the Church nor the cardinals must close themselves into categories, he said, saying the Holy Spirit “is always in movement, we must remember this.”

Similarly, Dominican Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop emeritus of Vienna, said the cardinals were sad that Pope Francis had left them, but “we are happy that he is at home, and we are committed to go the way he has raised for us.”

Asked whether they would continue the progress Francis has made, Schönborn, 80, questioned what progress meant, saying what Pope Francis achieved “is to show us, the Christian world, that we are one human family, that we are all children of God.”

“Therefore, we have one path that God has shown us, through Jesus, through the Gospel,” he said, saying, “That’s the way he has shown us. So, from the Gospel, the joy of the Gospel, that is it.”

Schönborn also spoke about the surprise private meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral Mass Saturday.

“I had this vision that Pope Francis was extending his hands over both and blessing them with this profound confidence that the good is stronger than evil, so I was very moved when I saw this picture,” he said.

The cardinals came to St. Mary Major on the second day of the novendiali, or nine-day mourning period after the death of the pope, during which Masses are celebrated daily and the cardinals meet in general congregations to discuss the state of the Church and the world, and to get to know one another.

As of 1p.m. local time, around 30,000 people had already come to visit Francis’s tomb, with the basilica expected to stay open until 10p.m. as mourners wait in a line roughly two hours long.

Of the 135 cardinals under 80 and eligible to vote in the conclave, the date for which has not yet been set, two have said they are unlikely to participate due to illness, so the number of voters will be around 133, which is still a higher number than in previous conclaves.

Europe still currently holds the majority of cardinal-electors, representing 43 percent of the entire college. Italians themselves make up 14 percent of the overall body of cardinal electors.

Latin American cardinals make up 18 percent of the college, where as Asia and the Pacific make up 16 percent, and North America nine percent. Africa and the Middle East represent 14 percent of the voters.

Roughly 80 percent of the cardinals voting in this conclave were elected by Pope Francis, and many are also significantly younger than in the past, with the two youngest members being Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cardinal Mykola Bychok of Australia, who is 45, and Cardinal Giorgio Marengo of Mongolia, who is 50.

As the cardinals resume general congregation meetings this week following the pope’s funeral over the weekend, a date for the conclave is likely to be announced in the coming days.

Follow Elise Ann Allen on X: @eliseannallen