On Monday 21 April 2025, Pope Francis, one of the most progressive leaders of the Catholic Church the world has witnessed so far, passed away after weeks of sickness. Francis, who was appointed as pope in 2013, was lauded, not only by his religious followers but by communities around the world for his defiance of tradition and commitment to human rights. With his passing, one massive seat now sits empty. So, now it’s time to learn all about the ancient proceedings that take place following a pope’s death. Envision the opening cafeteria scene from Mean Girls, choosing a new Catholic leader is a lot like that, all the Vatican’s missing is Lindsay Lohan.

Welcome back to Explained By a Blonde. This week, we’re covering a topic that’s arguably slightly outside of my area of expertise: the sacred religious practice of appointing a new pope. Although, saying that, I have watched both Tom Hanks’ iconic Angels & Demons and the recent film adaptation of Robert Harris’ 2016 novel, Conclave.

Everyone who watched conclave should be able to vote for the next pope we are one of you now

— Lukas Battle (@lukasbattle) April 21, 2025

Anyways, as Pope Francis is currently being mourned all over the world, both Vatican insiders and us common mortals are desperate to find out who will take his place at the top spot.

This is Pope Francis.

The Pope who:
• Carried his own luggage
• Paid his hotel bill after election
• Lived in a simple guesthouse

His humility was a revolutionary leadership that challenged 2,000 years of Church hierarchy.

Here’s his story:🧵 pic.twitter.com/EveUNu6UAU

— Historic Thread (@Storylinexplore) April 21, 2025

I’m devastated. Probably the world’s most unproblematic world leader— welcoming to women, LGBTQ, migrants, Palestinians, all the marginalized. He was what the Church needed; a reminder that faith isn’t conservatism but practice and social justice. Thank you, Pope Francis.

— Regine Cabato (@RegineCabato) April 21, 2025

Pope Francis was the only Church leader who dared to defy: To recognize LGBTQIA+ rights, to speak out against Israel’s genocide in Palestine, to snub JD Vance and put him in his place, to denounce human rights abuses elsewhere, to fight for climate and environment. Rest in power.

— karl 🇵🇸 #MarcosMamamatayTao (@eicvsfascism) April 21, 2025

But, how exactly is the next pope picked? This is where Papal conclave comes in—an extremely historic and sacred selection process that’s held in the heart of Vatican City.

The Papal Conclave typically takes place 15 days after the death of a pope, providing a significant mourning period. The new head of the Catholic Church is elected by the College of Cardinals, a large group of bishops—many of whom reside as some of the most senior officials of the church—who are designated advisors to the pope.

According to the BBC, there are currently 252 Catholic cardinals, but only 135 can cast ballots as those over the age of 80 can take part in debate but cannot vote.

Once conclave commences, the cardinals will be locked inside the Sistine Chapel and cut off from all communication from the outside. The purpose of this is to avoid any external influence from both mainstream media or political pressures. Then, they get to work.

 

Each cardinal casts a vote for the candidate they believe should become Pope, and they are also allowed to vote for themselves if they wish. A new Pope is elected when a candidate has 90 votes—this can take several rounds. The conclave can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks.

For all the hard-core Catholics who gather in St Peter’s Square awaiting the results (X Factor style), the tell-tale sign comes from the smoke that bellows out of the Sistine Chapel. If a vote has been cast but no candidate has received enough support, black smoke will be produced and rise out into the atmosphere—an indication that another day of voting is needed. However, if a candidate is selected, the final round of ballots are burned with chemicals to produce white smoke.

I’ll be real, conclave sounds like a good time. You put aside your day-to-day responsibilities, get locked in a room with all your besties, and giggle together until you pick a new head honcho.

i would have the best time at a conclave because it’s basically just a work convention where you get paid to gossip plot and scheme. god is literally demanding that you judge your coworkers. in his name we pray

— miccaeli ✍️ (@renegadeapostle) April 21, 2025

being in a conclave sounds sick. just locked in a room with your absolute boys voting on which one of your friends is just gonna be the man until they die

— big content guy (@bigcontentguy) April 21, 2025

Plus, as already pointed out by about a dozen Gen Zers on TikTok, if conclave had a soundtrack, it’d be Brat.

@cam.mp4.mov

conclave IS brat 💚 so many haters in the vatican fr!! | #conclave #conclavemovie #conclaveedit #edit #brat #bratedit #charlixcx #sympathyisaknife #arianagrande

♬ Sympathy is a knife featuring ariana grande - Charli xcx & Ariana Grande

There’s allegedly a very famous saying in Rome: if you enter a conclave as pope, you leave as a cardinal. Long story short, no matter how powerful your clique might be—nor how high your confidence is—the individual who’s destined to be pope should not be expecting to take on such a great honor. Once again, did you not watch Conclave…? The film breaks it all down for you.

There are currently half a dozen men who are being considered as frontrunners for the position as the next pope. Given Pope Francis was the first pope from Latin America, there have been some indications that his successor will also not be from Europe.

One of the leading contenders at the moment is Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, a highly experienced church leader from the Philippines, a country where almost 80 per cent of the population is Catholic. Tagle is considered a moderate Catholic, sharing Francis’ sentiments when it comes to the treatment of migrants but maintaining a very conservative approach to abortion and euthanasia.

Next, we have Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson from Ghana. A man who if elected would be the first African pope in 1,500 years. Turkson is highly revered in Africa and has long-been regarded as a papabile, someone well suited for the papacy. However, in 2012, the cardinal faced backlash after showing a screening of a highly controversial YouTube video that made alarmist predictions about the growth of Islam in Europe, as reported by Reuters.

There are also of course two strong Italian candidates: Pietro Parolin and Pierbattista Pizzaballa. Now, Parolin was widely regarded as Pope Francis’ number two and described by a number of news outlets as a “driving force for diplomacy,” so would be a natural successor. Pizzaballa, on the other hand, is a strong authority in the Middle East—something that could come in handy, with the rising tensions in the region.

So, lots of decisions for the boys to make. And I think it’s fair to say that Conclave is about to have a serious resurgence in popularity.