Pope Francis I’s death now means the Catholic Church is without a leader. Here are five things that must happen between now and the election of a new pontiff
Pope Francis has died aged 88, senior Vatican official announces
Pope Francis I has died this morning (April 21, 2025) at the age of 88 after a period of declining health.
The Argentinian pontiff – the first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church – had greeted worshippers in St Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday, wishing them well and blessing babies as he was slowly driven through the crowds in his wheelchair.
Now the eyes of the world will turn to his potential successor, of which there are 140, who will come together to form a ‘conclave’ to select the new pontiff from their members. First though, Francis must be laid to rest while cardinals across the world make arrangements to get themselves to Rome.
Here are five things that must happen when the pope dies.
Pope’s apartment is sealed
Pope Francis, seen here just hours before his death, will have had his apartment sealed to prevent anything from being taken(Image: VATICAN MEDIA/AFP via Getty Imag)
The first thing that happens after the death of the pope is to seal his private apartment to ensure there is no looting. The pope operates in the highly secluded Vatican City, but still steps are taken to keep out any opportunistic thieves.
When Pope Benedict XVI resigned in 2013, making way for Francis’ election, his cardinals locked the door of his apartment and sealed it with tape.
The official Chamberlain, or Camerlengo, of the Roman Catholic Church stamps the tape with the official seal, then ties red ribbon through the door handles and seals them with hot wax, which will break if the door is tampered with.
The pontiff can choose his own apartments within it. Most live in the grand Apostolic Palace, also known as the Papal Palace, which is north of St. Peter’s Basilica. Francis, however, wanted to live in simpler accommodation, so opted to move into a smaller two-room suite within the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse.
Since his election in 2013, Francis – who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio – lived out his principles of austerity, turning down the grand top-floor palatial penthouse apartment which boasts more than 12 rooms, quarters for staff, a terrace and extensive views across Rome.
Instead he stayed in the guesthouse used to house visiting cardinals, and opted to take his meals in the communal dining room.
He still used the papal library to receive dignitaries and official guests, and appeared at the famous window on Sundays to address the faithful in the square below.
Pope’s ring destroyed with shears
Pope Francis’ silver-plated ring will have been destroyed by his Camerlengo shortly after his death(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
The Camerlengo is responsible for sharing the news of the pontiff’s death with the Cardinal Vicar for Rome, who then passes on the news to the people of Rome – and the rest of the world.
Francis’ Camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, would have also had to destroy the pontiff’s official papal ring, known as the Ring of the Fisherman. The ring is given to each pope at their inauguration and shows Saint Peter in a boat with their papal name inscribed around the image.
Upon the pope’s death, his ring is removed from his right hand and destroyed by the Camerlengo with a pair of shears or special hammer in the presence of witnesses from the College of Cardinals, signifying the end of the late pope’s authority. While most popes have a gold ring, Francis opted to have a gold-plated silver one.
Pope Benedict XVI broke with tradition in 2013 when he formally resigned from office. Rather than having his papal ring destroyed, the cardinal camerlengo chiselled a deep cross on the upper part of the ring to denote the end of his reign.
Will is handed over to College of Cardinals
The Camerlengo – currently Irish-born Cardinal Farrell – has another responsibility to fulfil before the next pope is elected: holding on to Francis’ last will.
Historically, the camerlengo would also reveal its contents, but that responsibility is now given to the College of Cardinals, who open the will and read it aloud during their first meeting.
However, the camerlengo will retain the last pope’s will until it is handed over to the cardinals.
The leader of the Catholic Church is entitled to a salary – estimated to be the equivalent of $32,000 (£24,100) a month or £290,000 a year, but Francis – in keeping with his values of austerity and empathy with the poor – declined to receive his. Instead, he directed it should be donated back to the church, put into trust, used for a foundation or passed to a family member.
Despite not drawing a salary, Pope Francis’ net worth was estimated at a whopping £12million thanks to the assets linked to his papal office. These include five cars, the apartment and clothing.
Pope’s funeral will take place on certain day
According to canonical law, nine days of mourning will take place from the day of the pope’s death. The burial will happen between the fourth and sixth day after death, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Nine days of official mourning will now take place, with the burial happening between the fourth and sixth day after death (except for special reasons). For Francis, this means his funeral will happen between April 24 and April 27, 2025.
He will be the first pope in more than a century to be buried outside the Vatican, having stripped back the elaborate funeral rites historically associated with burying the pontiff.
Instead of the three traditional nested coffins made from cypress, lead and oak, Francis ordered his body to be laid to rest in a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc.
And he asked not to be buried beneath St Peter’s Basilica, but rather the the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome’s Esquilino district, where he visited several times during his papacy to pray.
Conclave can’t begin until funeral
In the hours since Pope Francis’ death was announced, cardinals across the world will have started making preparations to travel to Rome for the funeral – and then for the election of the next pontiff.
With 252 cardinals currently ordained across the Catholic-worshipping continents, all of them will be summoned to the seat of the church to watch proceedings. The new papal election called the Conclave will then be held between 15 and 20 days after the Pope’s death.
The Conclave will be formed of 120 cardinals, all of whom must be under 80 to vote. Currently there are 140 cardinals who are of the right age, meaning the most junior 20 will be asked to sit this one out.
White smoke will rise from the Sistine Chapel when a new pope has been elected by the Conclave(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Under the highly secretive process, the Conclave will be locked inside the Sistine Chapel to vote for one of themselves to become the new pope. Ballots will be held twice a day as the cardinals pray to be guided to the right decision.
Two stoves will be brought into the chapel: one to burn every scrap of paper associated with the ballot, the other to send up a smokey signal that will be spotted in St Peter’s Square.
Black smoke signifies the Conclave have not yet made a decision, meaning the ballot will be held again. But once there is a clear winner, white smoke will be sent up the chimney to tell the world there’s a new leader of the Catholic Church.
The new pope will immediately be taken to a side chapel and asked to confirm the name he’d like to be known by. Minutes later, he will be unveiled to the world on the papal balcony.
