Conclave to Pick New Pope 'Will Be Short,' Predicts Cardinal: 'I Think There Is a Consensus'

• On Wednesday, May 7, the College of Cardinals will gather to elect Pope Francis' successor in the secretive election known as a conclave

• Although some historical conclaves have taken as long as three years, most in modern church history have only lasted a few days — and one cardinal expects it'll only take a few days to pick a new pope this time around

• "I think there is a consensus ," Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez of El Salvador, adding that "the vision is very clear [for] what kind of pope we need in the church and for the world"

How long will the upcoming papal conclave take? Likely not that long, according to one Cardinal.

In just a matter of days, 133 men in the College of Cardinals are preparing to elect Pope Francis' successor in the secretive election known as a conclave, which is set to begin on begin on Wednesday, May 7. Although some historical conclaves have taken as long as three years, most elections in modern church history have only lasted a few days — Francis, for example, was chosen after just three rounds of voting.

Although Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez of El Salvador is not eligible to vote himself due to his age — you have to be under the age of 80 to vote, and Chávez is 82 — he predicted that the upcoming conclave "will be short," according to ABC News,

"I think there is a consensus ... the vision is very clear [for] what kind of pope we need in the church and for the world," he told the outlet, sharing that he's looking for a "Francis 2."

"That is why I think the conclave will be very short, two or three days," he added.

Related: What Is a 'Conclave' and How Does It Work? An Expert Demystifies the 'Secret' Process That Decides the Next Pope (Exclusive)

Although Chávez won't be voting, he has been at the Vatican this past week as cardinals from all over the world begin to meet each other in Rome to discuss candidates before they are sequestered.

The conclave also consists of general congregations, nationally recognized Pope Francis expert Kathleen Sprows Cummings previously told PEOPLE, and these engage all cardinals, not just voting ones, in discussion about the church's needs.

Following each vote, Cummings said, smoke is sent up the Sistine Chapel's chimney. If the smoke is black, that means the cardinals are still deliberating. But if it's white, "We have a new pope," Cummings said.

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The College of Cardinals — including 108 Cardinals appointed by Francis and 10 Americans — are set to converge on May 7 for the election process.

"The conclave will take place in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, which will remain closed to visitors during those days," according to the Vatican.

Related: Who Will Be the Next Pope? Experts Say 'Anything Can Happen' (Exclusive)

The conclave comes just over two weeks after Francis died of a stroke on Monday, April 21.

In the hours after Francis died, observers and news outlets began publishing lists of the men who are seen as top contenders, including Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea and France's Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline.

However, as one expert previously told PEOPLE, it's nearly impossible to predict who will actually become pope.

"One of the things that makes this particular conclave so hard to handicap, I think, is that Pope Francis has named 80% of the voting cardinals, and they are from all over the world," said Bill Cavanaugh, an American Catholic theologian and professor of Catholic studies at DePaul University.

"They don't know each other. Most of them have not worked in Rome together. And so it makes it really hard to say who's going to come out on top," he continued. "I really haven't seen any plausible explanations for why certain candidates are the front runners and others aren't."

He added, "Anybody is going to be unexpected at this point, in some ways."

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