Who will the next pope be – and how are they chosen?

Pope Francis is dead at 88 and the Catholic Church must now prepare for a new pontiff

Pop art-style repeated pattern of a Pope Pius XII statue with arrows and question marks
The rituals surrounding the papal succession date back centuries
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Shutterstock)

Following the death of Pope Francis at the age of 88 on Easter Monday, talks have turned to who will succeed him at the Catholic Church's 267th pontiff.

Given that Francis has been in poor health for a number of years — and also faced a recent series of hospitalisations — the fervor surrounding the question of who will become the next pope has already reached a fever pitch. In order to choose Francis' successor, the Church will undergo one of its most-watched and ancient rituals: the papal conclave, in which the world's cardinals congregate in the Vatican to vote on the next pope. But before this will come a mourning period during which the world gathers to remember the first Jesuit and first Latin American Pope.

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