VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -An Italian cardinal who was convicted of embezzlement and fraud said on Tuesday he will not take part in the secret conclave to elect the new pope. Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the most senior Catholic Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court, said in a statement he would not enter the conclave.

Cardinals have decided the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis will begin May 7. The conclave is a closed-door meeting of the cardinal electors to choose the new pope in the Sistine Chapel.

Cardinals have chosen May 7 as the date to start conclave and elect a new leader for 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, the Vatican announced.