Following the death of Pope Francis at age 88, who will become the next pope?

Axar.az reports, citing Town&Country, a papal conclave will be held in Rome in the coming weeks; it must begin no earlier than 16 days after the pope’s passing, and no later than 21. Therefore, the earliest the conclave could start is May 6, 2025; the latest is May 12, 2025.

At the conclave, cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote, and a two-thirds majority is needed to win.

The longest papal conclave lasted three years—it took place following the death of Pope Clement VI, and went from November 1268 to September 1271 (33 months), until Pope Gregory X was finally elected.

The shortest conclaves all took place before 1274, when sometimes, a new pope was elected the same day the previous pope died. But in 1274, the Church decreed that they had to wait at least ten days before the first vote (in 2025, it’s now 16 days). Post-1274, the shortest conclave is the 1503 election of Pope Julius II, elected in under ten hours.

In modern days, conclaves typically last under a few days; Pope Francis was elected after just five rounds in under two days.

If no one is elected after three days, voting pauses for up to one day. After seven more rounds, there’s another pause, before voting resumes.

If no one is selected after 33 rounds, the cardinals go to a runoff of the top two contenders, under a relatively new rule introduced by Pope Benedict XVI. Unlike in previous rounds, those two candidates cannot cast ballots.