How will the Catholic Church proceed following the death of Pope Francis?
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – As Catholics around the world mourn the death of Pope Francis, the college of cardinals is preparing for his funeral and the process of selecting his successor.
According to the Vatican, the body of Pope Francis could be moved to Saint Peter's Basilica as soon as Wednesday to allow worshippers to pay their respects.
As the world grieves the death of Pope Francis, now begins the Papal Interregnum, the time between the pope's death and the election of his successor. The pope's body will lie in state at St. Peter's Basilica for mourning, and his funeral–spoken in Latin–will take place within six days of his death.
Catholics in Springfield reflect on Pope Francis' legacy
By request, Pope Francis will be buried outside of the Vatican at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, and as the holy seat remains vacant, U.S. Cardinal Kevin Farrell will temporarily become the acting head of the Vatican.
Then, attention turns to the conclave. The election, held in secret at the Sistine Chapel, takes place 15 to 20 days after the death of the pope. 22News spoke with a political science and history professor from American International College (AIC) on what that process may look like.
'In 2013, there were five ballots to get to that requisite two-thirds votes to elect Pope Francis,' said Professor Robert Ravens-Seger. 'So there should be several ballots at least, depending on how many people are in the running.'
135 cardinals can vote, but they must be younger than 80 years old. Only 10 out of the 17 cardinals from the United States will be eligible to vote for the next leader of the Catholic church.
There are four rounds of secret ballots every day until one name receives that two-thirds majority. Black smoke means no pope yet, and white smoke means a new pope has been chosen.
Now the world waits for this historic decision to be made. There are several contenders right now, including two Italian cardinals, as well as a Filipino cardinal who is considered a close follower of Pope Francis.
22News will continue to follow this story and provide updates.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
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