Pope Francis died at 9:47 a.m. on Monday, initiating the Sede vacante, during which Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, the camerlengo, will temporarily administer the Church. The novendiales mourning period begins, leading to a simple funeral as requested by the pope, where he will be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore, the first pope to do so since 1669. Following the mourning, a conclave of 120 cardinals will elect his successor through secret ballots, with results indicated by smoke from a chimney in the Sistine Chapel, culminating in the announcement of a new pope from St. Peter’s Square.
