Cardinals from around the globe have gathered in Rome as the secretive conclave to elect the next pope begins today.
Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle are seen as frontrunners to succeed Pope Francis.
The process starts with a solemn mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by the cardinals’ procession to the Sistine Chapel, where they will vote under strict secrecy.
The decision comes in the wake of Pope Francis’s funeral and raises the question of whether the Church will continue his progressive legacy or return to a more traditional path.