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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Bells tolled Monday in the Vatican City and across the United States to mark the death of Pope Francis.
He died at the age of 88 from a stroke and heart failure, following his recent health trouble.
His death comes just one day after he greeted thousands for Easter.
The Vatican laid out plans for the late Pope Francis.
They are expected to move his body to St. Peter’s Basilica as early as Wednesday, but that decision will officially be made Tuesday.
His funeral will take place within four to six days, and within two to three weeks a new leader of the catholic church will be chosen.
But even with a new pope being picked, experts said Francis’ legacy will live on.
“In many ways, Pope Francis was a revolutionary figure,” University of South Florida Associate Professor James Cavendish explained. “He really took the example of St. Francis and of Jesus to heart and lived that very radically.”
Cavendish said Francis spent a lot of time listening to people who had been traditionally marginalized.
“Whether they be LGBTQ people [or] prisoners, he wanted it to be clear that the church was open to all,” he said.
Cavendish co-authored the book, “Catholicism at a Crossroads: The Present and Future of America’s Largest Church.”
It specifically looks at recent trends in attitudes among U.S. Catholics, something Cavendish said Pope Francis had an impact on.
He called it, “The Francis Effect.”
“It’s clear in looking at trends and attitudes that Francis has been able to open people’s minds to a more inclusive church,” Cavendish explained.
He described that profound impact as “revolutionary,” saying Pope Francis was able to share his beliefs of openness and inclusion with the world.
“He believes the church’s role is to meet people where they’re at in life, to not be judgmental, to listen to their experiences and then invite them to grow,” Cavendish said.
So the question is, what comes next?
Dr. Stephen Okey, the director of the Doctor of Theology program at St. Leo University, explained how the new pope will be chosen.
He said only cardinals under the age of 80 will be eligible to vote in what’s called a “conclave.”
Okey said they will go to the Sistine Chapel and take an oath of absolute secrecy before sealing the doors.
From there, the cardinals will vote by secret ballot
“Every cardinal will be given a notecard, think of an index card and on it says, in Latin, ‘I elect for the supreme Pontiff,’ and then you put the name,” Okey explained.
Once all of those have been turned in, he said there is a group of three cardinals who will count.
The question is, “Has someone arrived at a two-thirds majority?” That’s what you need to win the papacy.
If not, Okey said, “Starting the second day, they will do two ballots in the morning and two ballots in the afternoon until someone is elected.”
Okey said, if no one is elected, they will burn the ballots, so black smoke comes out of the chimney.
But if a pope is chosen, Okey said the cardinals will add chemicals to the ballots so white smoke can be seen coming from the Sistine Chapel.
That person will have the right to decline, but if he accepts, “they will take him to the room of tears because a lot is going on; then they will change clothes into papal white,” Okey explained.
“One of the cardinals will announce the new victor in Latin to the assembled crowd and then the new pope will step onto the balcony,” Okey said.