As the world pays their final respects to Pope Francis, men and women everywhere, including a new generation of faithful, wait in anticipation for the College of Cardinals to convene and select a new pope.

A conclave, organized by the camerlengo, presently Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, begins 15 to 20 days after the pope’s death.

“Anything could happen,” Tim Gabrielli, associate professor and Gudorf chair in Catholic intellectual traditions at the University of Dayton in Ohio, told Fox News Digital.

Pope Francis was 76 years old when he was elected. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

During his 12-year papacy, Pope Francis’ took affinity to the expansion of equality in the Catholic Church, which included pathways for divorced Catholics and blessings for same-sex couples.

“My read is that he had certain particular processes and structures that he was very interested in setting into motion, like the work on synodality more recently,” Gabrielli said.

Pope Francis also drove conversation around climate change. His emphasis on environmental protection followed suit with Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II before him.

“He was kind of picking up that momentum,” Gabrielli said. “There’s really a thread you see happening there.”

Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025. (Andrew Medichini/AP)

Presently, there are 252 living cardinals. However, only top members of the church under the age of 80 are eligible to vote. A maximum of 120 cardinal electors make up the voting college.

The limit was set by Pope John Paul VI in 1975.

“I think it’s possible that someone could be seen as close to Pope Francis,” Gabrielli said of the next pope. “I think it’s possible for someone to be elected who has a different set of priorities than Pope Francis.”