Reigning Pope Francis died from a stroke on the morning of April 21, 2025.
The Catholic church eventually selected another pope, the top contenders consisted of Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Peter erdo and Cardinal luis Antonio Gokim Tagle were the most popular of the bunch.
How it works
There will be a vote held and someone must get ⅔ of the vote in order to be a pope. This will be signaled with white smoke coming out of the building if they however do not vote for a new pope black smoke will be released and another vote will be held at another time. The cycle will repeat until two thirds of the council of cardinals has voted on one person to be the pope. Then, white smoke will come out of the building meaning they have decided.
Update: On May 8th, 2025 a new pope was elected, the new pope's name is Leo XIV, the first ever American pope. This was a surprise to many. Born and raised in Chicago, Pope Leo XIV spent most of his time serving in South America. He was a friend of Pope Francis, and this gives people hope that he will carry on the legacy of Pope Francis who was a champion for the people of the world, including migrants, poor, and disenfranchised.