By admin 
To place it mildly, those that have been heartened by Francis’ management and those that did not approve of the path he was steering the church might be ready to see who triggers the white smoke within the coming days.
There are 252 cardinals, however solely these below 80 years previous—so, 137 of them—can vote for pope. Francis most not too long ago elevated 21 church leaders to the rank of cardinal on Dec. 7, 20 of them eligible to vote for his successor.
A two-thirds majority is required to call the brand new pope, a rule that dates again to 1179.
In the meantime, there isn’t any age restrict to develop into pope. Benedict XVI was 78 when he was elected, whereas Francis was 76. (Agatho was, based on papal lore, 101 when he grew to become pope in 678 and reigned for 3 years, however students nonetheless debate whether or not he was that previous. In any other case, Pope Gregory XII was the oldest when he was elected on the age of 81 in 1406.)
So, that is undoubtedly a pool of golden bachelors. In response to specialists on the topic, these are a few of the most elegible cardinals—or papabile, as they’re known as—within the working to be the following pope: