What’s Happening in the Vatican City?

In March 2013, the cardinals elected Pope Francis to be the next pope after Pope Benedict XVI resigned. As pope, Francis took various stances, such as calling for unity among many religions (including Islam and Judaism), calling for protection of refugees and migrants, opposing anti-immigration policies, and helping restore diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US.

His passing started a mourning period on Monday, and also acts as the start of the process of picking a new pope, a process that is millennia-old. But how is a new pope chosen? Here’s a breakdown:

1. After the death of a pope, a senior Vatican official called the camerlengo will conduct a series of rituals.
2. The papal household, Vatican staff, religious leaders, and heads of states will be able to privately visit the body of the pope to pay respects before the body is moved to St. Peter’s Basilica for the public to pay their respects.
3. The camerlengo then picks a date for cardinals to begin meeting daily to plan the funeral, conclave, and handle the day-to-day business of the church. They will meet until the conclave.
4. On Saturday, April 26, 2025, Pope Francis’s funeral will be held in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. The funeral will then start the novendiales, the nine days of mourning. Each day, a different cardinal hosts a traditional ceremony to honor the pope.
5. After the novendiales, a conclave is held to elect the new pope. The conclave consists of rounds of secretive voting, where 120 eligible cardinals vote for the next pope by writing his name on a slip of paper and turning into a ballot box. This will continue until someone gets ⅔ of the vote.
6. Once a new pope is elected, the ballot papers are burned and white smoke rises from the chapel chimney in St. Peter’s Square. However, if a round ends and they have not chosen a new pope, they will burn the papers and add a mix of chemical to the ashes to make the smoke turn black, which signals they have not picked yet.
7. Finally, about 30-60 minutes after a new pope is chosen, he will appear on the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square, where his papal name will be announced and he will say a prayer and briefly speak. The next pope will have a mass to celebrated him being the 267th pope, and while it is typically held at St. Peter’s, it is up to him to choose where to hold the mass.