Pope Francis has died at the age of 88. The Vatican announced that at 07:35 local time on Easter Monday the head of the Roman Catholic Church “returned to the house of the Father” at his residence, Casa Santa Marta. He was the first Latin American pope in the Church’s history.
Following tradition, the pontiff’s death was confirmed by the head of the Vatican’s health department and the cardinal chamberlain (camerlengo, in Italian) Kevin Joseph Farrell.
The Pope’s body will now be taken to his chapel for a private ceremony, in which it will be placed in a single coffin – a departure from the three nested coffins common in previous pontiffs’ funerals.
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There are currently 252 Catholic cardinals, but only 135 are eligible to cast ballots in selecting the next Pope as those over the age of 80 can take part in debate but cannot vote.
135 cardinals are under the age of 80, which makes them eligible to select Pope Francis’s successor.
Once Francis is buried, the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, has 15 to 20 days to summon the cardinals to Rome.
Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) following the death of Pope Francis has urged the church in Ghana to pray and prepare hearts for the election of his successor.
In a statement, the Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, the Catholic Bishop of Sunyani and President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, asked for prayers as the church mourns “our beloved Holy Father and as we prepare our hearts for the election of his successor.”
In a television interview with Accra-based TV3 and in his tribute to Pope Francis, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast, Most Reverend Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle described Pope Francis as a towering moral voice whose legacy transcended religious boundaries.
He indicated Pope Francis was not only a preacher but someone who fully lived out his convictions.
“Pope Francis did not only preach; he lived what he believed,” he remarked, praising the late pontiff’s efforts to promote environmental responsibility, interfaith harmony, and human dignity.
Cardinal Turkson: Ghana’s hopeful
And as the Cardinals prepare to go into conclave to select the next Pope, Most Rev Palmer-Buckle suggested that Ghana’s Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson could be a strong candidate.
“He is of the right age, with immense experience, having served in key roles at the Vatican… If the Cardinals see him fit, we will support him with our prayers. His election would be a great honour for Ghana.”
Still, he noted, the final decision rests with the College of Cardinals and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
“Let’s leave it to the Lord to show us who the next Pope should be,” he said, calling on Catholics worldwide to join in prayerful reflection.
How next Pope will be chosen
During the conclave, the cardinals live in the House of St Martha, a five-story guesthouse with 106 suites, 22 single rooms and a state apartment. Pope Francis lived in suite 201 during his papacy.
The cardinals will walk along the Via delle Fondamenta every day to the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave happens. All conversations with outsiders are forbidden during this period.
The faithful gather in St Peter’s Square during the conclave, waiting for the moment when the smoke comes out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
Choosing the pontiff
Papal conclaves are notoriously difficult to predict because the election process is shrouded in so much secrecy. Once they enter the Sistine Chapel, they must have no communication with the outside world until a new Pope is elected.
The only people admitted in the chapel and in the guesthouse are doctors, confessors, masters of ceremonies, cooks, and cleaning staff. But they are also bound to secrecy about anything concerning the conclave.
“Unlike other world governments, these men are not aligned with any particular political parties so one never knows exactly what their priorities are, where they stand on controversial issues and what they will have top of mind when they cast their ballot. All of it adds up to a lot of intrigue and very little certainty,” says the BBC’s Davide Ghiglione in Rome.
The cardinals may take some inspiration from the frescos and artwork of Michelangelo inside the Sistine Chapel.
With additional files from the BBC