Cardinals to select 267th Pope of the Catholic church

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - The conclave begins Wednesday. This comes after Pope Francis died at 88 years old back on April 21.

Cardinal electors will be tasked with selecting the 267th Pope of the Catholic church.

With the conclusion of the official mourning period for Pope Francis comes a shift in focus to the conclave--who will be the next pope? While there are a few "top contenders," 22News dug a little deeper into the process itself, which is rooted in tradition from over 2,000 years ago.

Ahead of the papal conclave, 133 cardinals have gathered in Vatican City, and one will emerge as the new pope. During a conclave, an assembly of cardinals, under age 80, meets in strict seclusion to elect a new pope.

The secret election can take days or even weeks. Springfield Bishop William Byrne imagines that this year may take a bit longer -- since it's the largest and most diverse group of cardinals to attend a conclave in church history. "Sometimes the process of deciding who would be pope became very contentious, so the locking in was to make sure that it sped up," Bishop Byrne says. "In the past, it was a smaller number, and many from Europe, so they would've known each other."

Cardinals cast four votes a day until they reach a two-thirds majority agreement. With each vote, they burn their ballots in a stove installed in the Sistine Chapel -- a tradition dating back to the thirteenth century.

Smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney will be used to announce whether or not a decision has been made. Black smoke means no -- white smoke indicates a successor for Pope Francis has been chosen.

As for who that will be--Bishop Byrne believes he'll likely remind us of 'the pope of the people,' someone we probably don't know, but will be a great gift to the church as we move into the next decade.

Wednesday's conclave will begin with a public mass at St. Peter's Basilica at 10 am--the Cardinals will pray for the guidance of the holy spirit during the selection process. They'll process into the Sistine Chapel later in the afternoon.