Pope Francis died on Monday morning, the Vatican introduced, days after he left hospital following therapy for a fancy respiratory an infection. He was 88.
His dying, 12 years after he was declared pope, has prompted renewed questions on who will succeed him as chief of the Catholic Church, one of many oldest and largest non secular establishments with as much as 1.39 billion followers.
Right here’s what you’ll want to find out about what might come after Pope Francis, whose social justice beliefs and global vision have remodeled the Church.
Who would be the subsequent Pope?
A successor has but to be chosen.
The School of Cardinals, comprised of senior Catholic clergy – many appointed by Francis himself – will elect the subsequent pope. To be eligible, a candidate have to be a baptised, male Roman Catholic, although for hundreds of years, the cardinals have solely chosen somebody from their ranks.
There are presently greater than 240 cardinals worldwide. They usually maintain the title for all times.
How is a brand new pope chosen?
Cardinals underneath the age of 80, when the pope dies or resigns, vote in what is called the papal conclave. To forestall outdoors affect, the conclave locks itself within the Sistine Chapel and deliberates on potential successors.
Whereas the variety of papal electors is usually capped at 120, there are presently 138 eligible voters. Its members forged their votes through secret ballots, a course of overseen by 9 randomly chosen cardinals. A two-thirds majority is historically required to elect the brand new pope, and voting continues till this threshold is met.
After every spherical, the ballots are burned with chemical compounds, producing both black or white smoke. Black smoke alerts that no choice has been made, whereas white smoke means a brand new pope has been elected. As soon as a pope is chosen, a prime cardinal declares his identify from St Peter’s Basilica.
When will the papal conclave begin?
Often, two or three weeks after the dying (or resignation) of the final pope. This permits for a nine-day mourning interval and for cardinals to make their solution to the Vatican from world wide.
The 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, who’s the primary pontiff from South America, started simply 12 days after the resignation of his predecessor, Benedict XVI.
How lengthy does it take to elect a brand new Pope?
The method can take days, weeks and even longer, relying on how divided the cardinals are.
Every day, the conclave can maintain as much as 4 rounds of voting to attempt to obtain the required two-thirds majority. If after 33 rounds there’s nonetheless no choice, the highest two candidates face-off in a run-off vote.
The elections of the final three popes have been comparatively fast, with every lasting solely a number of days.
However traditionally, elections have generally dragged on for much longer, with the papal conclave that elected Pope Gregory X in 1271 taking almost three years attributable to fierce political wrangling.
Who’re the highest candidates to turn out to be the subsequent Pope?
Of the 138 cardinals eligible to vote within the conclave, a complete of 110 cardinals had been appointed by Pope Francis. This group is notably extra various than earlier electors, with the next illustration from Asia, Africa and Latin America, reflecting Francis’s aim of mirroring the Church’s world attain. The youngest cardinal elector is just 45 years previous, a Ukrainian clergy primarily based in Australia.
In consequence, there’s a chance that, for the primary time in centuries, the subsequent pope might come from Africa or Asia – or one other area historically underrepresented within the church’s management.
Among the many African cardinals being mentioned are Ghana’s Peter Turkson, the previous head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and Congo’s Fridolin Ambongo, archbishop of Kinshasa. Each are dedicated conservatives who’ve been vocal advocates for peace of their respective international locations.
One other sturdy contender is Philippine Cardinal Luis Tagle, the previous archbishop of Manila. Like Pope Francis, Tagle emphasises social justice and caring for the poor.
Hungarian cardinal Peter Erdo is seen as a number one conservative candidate and will function a bridge to Jap Christians. The archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Erdo is a traditionalist who has championed outreach to Orthodox Christians, stressing the “determined want” for unity between the church buildings.
Additionally within the combine is Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, whose prime diplomatic position ensures he’s well-known by all cardinals.
Different doable candidates embrace Italy’s Matteo Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna, and Malta’s Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, a place that stored him in shut contact with Pope Francis.
What occurs to the Vatican throughout a transition?
Through the “sede vacante” (vacant seat) interval – when the papal workplace is unoccupied – a senior cardinal, often called the Camerlengo, certifies the pope’s dying and quickly takes cost of the Vatican’s funds and administrative affairs. He doesn’t have the authority to change church doctrine or make vital choices.
The present Camerlengo is Irish-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who additionally serves because the president of the Vatican’s Supreme Court docket.
