What happens after a pope’s death? Conclave, funeral-- explained

Only twice in the 21st century has there been a vacancy of the Holy See

Now again, this most solemn duty falls to the College of Cardinals, the most senior members of the clergy

138 cardinals are under 80 and eligible to elect the next pope

But before the white smoke rises, the bells toll and a new Holy Father emerges

There's much work to be done, including a carefully choreographed series of events steeped in centuries of tradition

The first thing that happens is what they call a camelango or the chamberlain of the Holy Roman Catholic Church

Traditionally, historically, this is a fascinating piece, would take a silver hammer and tap the pope's forehead three times and then call it his baptismal name

And if there are no response in any of the three knockings or the name, would declare the pope officially dead

Nowadays, there are more modern methods of declaring the pope deceased, but the sentiment remains

And once it does the Carmelengo takes the papal signet ring the ring of the fisherman and destroys it signaling the end of Pope Francis reign His papal apartment is sealed the College of Cardinals are notified and a nine mourning period begins Back in April of 24 Pope Francis established new rights for the burial of a pope

Now, could his successor change this? Of course. But for Pope Francis, he was very clear that he did not want a pope that was associated with a noble statesman or a world leader or global power

He wanted to be remembered as a simple shepherd, as a kind pastor

And so you want to be buried in that respect. What's quite striking, it's a very simplified funeral rite that he's left us with

Pope Francis will be in a coffin, much like we see any of our family members

buried in a coffin in a funeral home. What's also going to be striking is that that coffin is going to be closed

The funeral will be unlike the others we've seen in modern times. Think disciple of Christ, not head of state

Pope Francis will be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore, not St. Peter's Basilica

And that process will happen between the fourth and six days after his death

Once the burial is done, the conclave begins, which is roughly 15 to 20 days after the Pope death is announced That a very serious gathering It very restricted The Cardinals themselves are in one place They not to leave during that time

They don't come and go. It's now where Pope Francis lives in Santa Marta

And they stay there. They go over to the Sistine Chapel each day

for their deliberations and their vote. The Cardinals vote in secrecy four times a day

When they vote, they're locked inside the Sistine Chapel. They're cut off from the outside world as a way to reconnect with the Holy Spirit

If a two-thirds majority is not reached, the smoke that emerges is black

Once a decision has been made, the smoke is white and the bells toll

It's not an election as much as it's a discernment. And that goes back to the earliest days of the church

when the apostles had to choose a successor, not for Peter, but for Judas

to make the number whole again, that what they did is they gathered in prayer

and they listened to one another to hear where the Holy Spirit was leading them

And that's why this is different. This isn an election in the ways of this world The selection of a pope is meant to come out of an experience of prayer and solidarity The longest conclave in history lasted 1 days Theoretically

any baptized Roman Catholic man is eligible for the papacy. But for the last 700 years

the pope has been chosen from the College of Cardinals. So who will it be? What people should

be cautious about is looking at the Vatican and looking at the global Catholic Church through the

lens of American politics and American ideas of conservatism and liberalism. The church is

you know, it operates on all continents of the world. There are 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide

Some might sort of hew to what are considered traditional Catholic values and ideals and

tradition and doctrine, and others don't. And this is sort of what makes predicting a new pope

sort of so difficult. What matters most to the cardinals is the continuation of the church

and yet much of that depends on how the next pope addresses global, social and economic issues

Those that pull people in and turn people away. The bottom line is anything can happen and the Holy Spirit works on a timetable and an agenda all its own

Teresa Priolo, Fox 5 News