Christopher White

One hundred and eighty-three cardinals were present at the meeting, 124 of whom were cardinal-electors. Fourteen cardinals offered individual speeches, including on the themes of synodality, the Second Vatican Council, polarization and evangelization. 

A leading voice among his confreres in Africa, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of the Democratic Republic of Congo is known for his environmental advocacy, and made news for pushback on blessing homosexual couples.

Will the conclave write papal poetry and pick a 59-year-old theologian and fisherman's son for the seat of St. Peter? Or will Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça have to wait until next time?

Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin served as Pope Francis' top aide and by all accounts was a loyal deputy. But in recent years, Parolin's stock has been on the rise among more traditional-leaning prelates.

Two of the eligible cardinal electors have informed the Holy See that they will not be able to participate in the conclave for health reasons, bringing the number of electors to 133.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin's ecclesial resume was built predominantly outside of the U.S., which might ease concerns about an Americentric papacy. And cardinal electors might be attracted to his story of Vatican exile.

They call him the "Asian Francis" because his personal simplicity and emphasis on the poor and marginalized mirror Pope Francis' life. Now, Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is again a contender to be pope.

The decision was made during a closed-door meeting of the College of Cardinals and announced at a media briefing at the Vatican.

In closed-door sessions called congregations, cardinals have given 70 speeches to their brethren. The conclave is likely to begin May 6.

A simplified papal funeral will make a fitting farewell for a pontiff who just three days after his surprise election expressed his desire for "a church that is poor and for the poor."

More than 61,000 people have visited the basilica so far to pay their respects to Pope Francis, who died April 21. 

As the world's Catholic cardinals gather for what is expected to be the largest conclave in history, they face a stark choice: to continue along Pope Francis' path of reform, or to initiate a course correction. 

Pope Francis' funeral Mass will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 26 at St. Peter's Basilica. 

Pope Francis, history's first pontiff from the Global South, has died at age 88 following a monthslong respiratory illness, setting the stage for a high-stakes secretive election to determine his successor.

Since the pope left the hospital, he had seemed different, writes NCR's Vatican correspondent Christopher White. That change seems more clear after his death on April 21.

In the next few weeks, the cardinals of the Catholic Church will gather in Rome to bury him and turn their minds and hearts to the selection of a successor. We do not know who will be selected in the conclave. But we do have a good idea of what will happen, and when, during this interregnum.

Earlier, Francis greeted U.S. Vice President JD Vance

Pope Francis on April 20 met briefly with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in the first in-person encounter between one of the world's leading champions of migrants and one of America's fiercest anti-immigrant campaigners. 

Pope Francis' top diplomats met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on April 19, where the two sides discussed migrants and refugees following months of clashes between U.S. church leaders and the Trump administration over immigration policy and foreign aid. 

Vice President Vance attended the Passion liturgy with his wife, Usha, and their three young children.