LSU professor breaks down papal conclave in the Vatican City

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, the search for the new pope will kick off.

Michael Pasquier, Religious studies and history professor at LSU, said hundreds of Catholic Cardinals are waiting to take the seat, held until recently by Pope Francis.

“Right now, there are 252 cardinals around the world, ranging from the age of 100 to 45,” said Pasquier.

The process is set to last several days. Pasquier said that although the age range is higher, you have to be under the age of 80, which then drops the number from 252 to 135. He said this is the most diverse group they’ve seen.

“We have the largest number of cardinals representing South America, Africa, and Asia than we ever have before,” he said.

There’s a specific process on how voting works, and it involves a chimney.

“If it comes out black, then we know that a pope has not received the number, the correct number of votes in order to be pope. And when the smoke is white, then we know that in the next couple of hours we’re going to know who that next pope will be,” said Pasquier.

Pope Francis was the first to be selected from Latin America. There’s never been one elected from the US. Pasquier said Francis’s legacy and his background created a major influence.

“And the chances of someone coming from the southern hemisphere, so to speak, as opposed to the northern Hemisphere from Europe and North America, are higher because of the legacy that Pope Francis has left us,” he said.

A special mass will start the process of selecting the new pope, which is completely closed to the public. The first ballot for the next pope will be made on Wednesday evening. Voting will then happen four times a day, twice in the morning and twice in the evening.

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