International News
What happens next after Francis’ death? How the Catholic Church will pick a successor
The death of Pope Francis has triggered a period of mourning in the Vatican and signals the start of a millennia-old process of picking a new pontiff.
The death of Pope Francis has triggered a period of mourning in the Vatican and signals the start of a millennia-old process of picking a new pontiff.
It is a procedure steeped in tradition, but one which has been subtly updated for the modern world.
Cardinals – senior church officials appointed by the pope – from around the world must gather for the conclave in which Francis’ successor is selected. It typically takes between two and three weeks for a pope to be chosen, though it can stretch slightly beyond that if cardinals struggle to agree on a candidate.
The voting process is kept secret but will take place with the eyes of the world on the Vatican and amid intense scrutiny of the Catholic Church – an institution whose reputation has been stained by the scandal of child sex abuse within its ranks, overshadowing the legacies of successive popes.
In the interim, a cardinal from the United States has become acting head of the Vatican until a new pope is elected. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who was born in Ireland and who became a naturalized American citizen after spending many years ministering in the United States, holds the position of “camerlengo,” or chamberlain.
Later on Monday, Farrell sealed the Papal Apartment of the Apostolic Palace, the traditional residence of the pope, to mark the beginning of the mourning period. The apartment was not used by Francis, who lived in Casa Santa Marta. The closure of the pope’s residence is a symbolic gesture that historically served to prevent looting of the pope’s residence. It symbolizes the formal end of the Francis pontificate.
Here’s what you need to know about the coming days and weeks.
What happens during the mourning period?
The “Papal Interregnum” – the period between the death of one pope and the election of another – began when Francis passed away. Francis, who was 88, died of a stroke and heart failure at Casa Santa Marta, his residence in the Vatican, on Monday.
Cardinals must now decide exactly when the funeral can take place, and after that, when conclave can begin. But much of the timeline is predetermined; the pope’s death includes nine days of mourning known as the Novendiales, and the pope must be buried between the fourth and sixth day after death.
In the interim, the pope will be placed in a coffin, after which he will lie in state for several days until the funeral.
Pope Francis’ body could lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica for people to come and pay their respects as soon as Wednesday, a Vatican spokesperson said Monday.
Mourners lined up for miles to see the body of Pope John Paul II, the last serving pontiff to die, in 2005.
It is likely that unofficial events will take place in tandem in Buenos Aires, where Francis lived before becoming the Bishop of Rome. In Warsaw, more than 200,000 gathered at the site where John Paul II, then Karol Wojtyla, returned as the new pope in 1979.
