How the next Pope is chosen

By Faith Barbara N Ruhinda updated at 1314 EAT on Tuesday 22 April 2025

Following tradition, the pontiff’s death was confirmed by the head of the Vatican’s health department and the cardinal chamberlain (camerlengo, in Italian) Kevin Joseph Farrell.

He was the first Latin American pope in the Church’s history.

The Pope’s body will now be taken to his chapel for a private ceremony, in which it will be placed in a single coffin – a departure from the three nested coffins common in previous pontiffs’ funerals.

Pope Francis himself chose to scale back some of the funerary pomp and ceremony. In 2024, he simplified what would be his funeral rites. This time, there will be no private viewing for cardinals and a public viewing will take place in St Peter’s Basilica after a procession led by the camerlengo.

Inside the church, however, the Pope’s body will remain in the coffin, which won’t be raised on a pedestal.

Pope Francis will, like his predecessor, be buried with some items that symbolise his time as Supreme Pontiff and his achievements.

Those are the pallium, a vestment used only by the pontiff and metropolitan archbishops; the rogito, a deed that summarises the highlights of Francis’s time as Pope, and bags of silver, gold and copper coins in number equal to the years of his papacy.

In a 2023 interview, Pope Francis revealed he already had a tomb prepared for him in his favourite church, the Basilica of St Mary Major.

The basilica also houses the tombs of other popes and is located close to Rome’s main railway station, Termini. Even though it sits on Italian soil, the church is considered to be Vatican territory.

The funeral and burial rituals will be finished four to six days after Pope Francis’s death.

Following the Pope’s death, the cardinal chamberlain seals his apartment in the House of St Martha, where he chose to live during his papacy.

The camerlengo destroys the Pope’s fisherman’s ring, a signet used to sign documents, in front of the College of Cardinals using a ceremonial hammer.

This is the beginning of the Sede vacante period, when the Catholic Church is without a Pope and prepares for the conclave – the secret meeting where cardinals elect a new Pope.

The Pope leads the Catholic Church and is seen as St Peter’s successor, giving him authority over its 1.4 billion followers. Catholics believe this connects him directly to Jesus Christ, making him a key source of spiritual guidance.

Alongside the Bible, his teachings help shape the Church’s beliefs and practices. Other Christian denominations, such as Protestants and Orthodox Christians, do not recognise his authority.

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