As Pope Francis continues to be hospitalised, position of pope lies vacant. What happens next?

India Today

What happens when a pope is not able to perform his duties? Well, the position merely remains vacant. @virtuallyshreya finds out how a Pope is appointed.

Transcript

00:00Is the search for the next Pope on?

00:03Well, the Pope is not directly chosen by God, but by 120 cardinals or the Church's most

00:08senior officials, under the age of 80, who announce God's will.

00:12With Pope Francis hospitalized with a serious lung infection, he remains critical, with

00:17recent reports showing an early kidney failure.

00:19Interestingly, the Vatican does have a detailed protocol on what happens when a Pope dies

00:24or resigns, which is a rarest of rare case.

00:27No such rituals exist for when a Pope is severely ill or unconscious, which means despite being

00:32hospitalized for nearly 10 days now, Pope Francis remains in charge.

00:36Over the last few weeks, many of the 88-year-old's events have been cancelled, and many have

00:41expressed concern over who takes over.

00:43So, how does the Vatican select a new Pope?

00:46Technically, any baptized Roman Catholic male is an eligible candidate.

00:50The Pope is then elected by the College of Cardinals, a group of senior Catholic officials

00:54in a secret ballot process called a conclave.

00:57Cardinals are under 80 years old and vote in secret ballots one by one, in front of

01:02Michelangelo's Last Judgment fresco.

01:04These ballots are then burned in a stove to generate smoke as the crowd waits for the

01:08color of the smoke.

01:09Black smoke means no majority was reached, while white smoke signals a new Pope has been

01:13chosen.

01:14The selected Cardinal is then asked if he accepts the election by the Dean, to which,

01:19if he agrees, the Dean announces Habemus Papam, which means we have a Pope.

01:23This new Pope is elected for life and announced to the world at the balcony of St. Peter's

01:27Basilica.

01:28What do you think is in store for the Vatican?

01:30Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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