Dozens of so-called “Princes of the Church” from across the world have been gathering at the Vatican since the 88-year-old Argentine pontiff died on April 21.
“I believe that if Francis has been the pope of surprises, this conclave will be too, as it is not at all predictable,“ Spanish Cardinal Jose Cobo said in an interview published Sunday.
Francis was laid to rest Saturday with a funeral and burial ceremony that drew 400,000 people to St Peter's Square and beyond, including royalty, world leaders and ordinary pilgrims.
With conflicts and diplomatic crises raging around the world, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who under Francis was secretary of state -- the pope's number two -- is for many the favourite to succeed him.
Next in their odds comes Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, then Guinea's Cardinal Robert Sarah, and Matteo Zuppi, the Archbishop of Bologna.
Ricardo Cruz, 44, a data and artificial intelligence specialist who came to see Francis's tomb on Sunday, said that as a Filipino he hoped the next pope would be from Asia, but as a Catholic he just hoped the cardinals would pick the “right pope“.
Roberto Regoli, a professor of Church history and culture at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, told AFP the cardinals would be looking “to find someone who knows how to forge greater unity”.
The cardinals have held general meetings since Francis's death to make decisions about the funeral and beyond.
Experts have suggested it may take place on May 5 or 6 -- shortly after the nine days of papal mourning, which ends on May 4.
“There are different opinions, but there is a more spiritual than political or combative climate,“ he said Sunday.
There are 252 cardinals but only 135 of them are aged under 80 and therefore eligible to vote for a new pope.
Most are relatively young, and for many it is their first conclave.
The process could take several days, or potentially longer.
Fewer than half of those eligible to vote are European.
“We need a courageous leader, a bold one, capable of speaking forcefully, of holding the helm of the Church steady even in storms... offering stability in an era of great uncertainty.”
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