To put it mildly, those who were heartened by Francis’ leadership and those who didn’t approve of the direction he was steering the church will be waiting to see who triggers the white smoke in the coming days.
There are 252 cardinals, but only those under 80 years old—so, 137 of them—can vote for pope. Francis most recently elevated 21 church leaders to the rank of cardinal on Dec. 7, 20 of them eligible to vote for his successor.
A two-thirds majority is required to name the new pope, a rule that dates back to 1179.
Meanwhile, there is no age limit to become pope. Benedict XVI was 78 when he was elected, while Francis was 76. (Agatho was, according to papal lore, 101 when he became pope in 678 and reigned for three years, but scholars still debate whether he was that old. Otherwise, Pope Gregory XII was the oldest when he was elected at the age of 81 in 1406.)
So, this is definitely a pool of golden bachelors. According to experts on the subject, these are some of the most elegible cardinals—or papabile, as they’re called—in the running to be the next pope:
