Breaking: Papal Conclave Convenes to Elect Pope Francis’s Successor

The College of Cardinals met Wednesday in Vatican City to begin the process of electing a new Pope, weeks after the death of Pope Francis.

The papal conclave meets 15 to 20 days after the Pope's death. Under the ancient process, members of the College of Cardinals who are under the age of 80 meet in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to select the man who will lead with world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics.

A group of 133 cardinals gathered Wednesday to begin the voting process, the highest number ever convened for a Papal Conclave. After attending mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, they were sequestered inside the Sistine Chapel, cut off from any contact, including digital, with the outside world.

Each time the College of Cardinals votes on a new pope but no decision is reached, black smoke will be released from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney. When a new pope has been selected, white smoke will be released.

There are several reported frontrunners to replace Pope Francis, who was elected in 2013: Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle from the Phillipines; Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who has served as the Vatican’s Secretary of State for the last 12 years; and Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo.

Tagle serves as the the pro-prefect for the section of first evangelization of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and the president of the Interdicasterial Commission for Consecrated Religious.

Tagle “would be hailed by liberals, given the changing demographic of the Church,” according to the Catholic Herald. He spoke out in 2015 about the Church’s “severe” position on the LGBT community, divorcees, and single mothers.

Parolin, meanwhile, is a more well-known candidate, having served as the Vatican’s No. 2 for more than a decade. However, some cardinals in the U.S. and Asia are wary of Parolin because of his role in negotiating a secret 2018 Vatican agreement with China, which gives Chinese authorities some say in who will serve as Catholic bishops.

Hungarian archbishop Peter Erdo is a more conservative candidate. For example, he ordered churches not to take in migrants saying "we would become human smugglers if we took in refugees." However, he ultimately changed his position after input from Pope Francis.