The Catholic Church is gearing up for the papal conclave this year after Pope Francis’s death on Easter Monday. 

The papal conclave is a closed doors meeting between all Cardinals under the age of 80 years old. This year 135 cardinals will be at the correct age to convene at the Vatican to decide the next Pope of the Catholic Church. 

All papal candidates are required to be a baptized Catholic male, and are typically a member of the College of Cardinals. This College is made up of bishops and religious officials appointed by the previous pope. Current church law states that one must be a bishop in order to be chosen as Pope, and current practice is that the College of Cardinals will select one of their own number as the new Pope.

One vote is taken on the first day of the papal conclave. After the first day of ballots are cast, four rounds of voting are administered every day until a candidate is chosen by two thirds of the vote. 

When a candidate is chosen by two thirds of the vote he is asked if he would like to accept this position. If he says yes, he will be dressed in papal vestments and brought to St. Peter’s basilica, where the letters from the previous rounds voting will be burned, sending up plums of white smoke signifying that a new pope has been chosen. 

“In the conclave, we can talk about whatever we want. But no one can tell you who to vote for. No one has the right to say who the other should vote for or who they have voted for,” Cardinal Philippe Bardarin said. 

Cardinals follow strict methods of secrecy to allow no external factors or opinions to play a role in voting, and even brun all ballots after the voting is finished.