The Holy Place is Empty - the World is Waiting for the New 267th Pope

The world said goodbye to Pope Francis. The funeral of the pontiff took place on Saturday, April 26, in the Vatican. The ceremony lasted more than 3 hours and gathered a record 250 thousand people in St. Peter's Square and the surrounding streets.

On behalf of Belarus, on behalf of Alexander Lukashenko, the Ambassador of Belarus to the Holy See Yury Ambrazevich, the Chargé d'Affaires in Italy Kirill Petrovsky and the head of the delegation - the Chairman of the House of Representatives Igor Sergeyenko arrived in the Vatican to participate in the funeral ceremony.

The pontiff passed away on Easter Monday, April 21, at the age of 88. The 266th Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, became the first head of the Holy See from Latin America. Speaking about him, believers from all over the world note that he was significantly different from his predecessors - he was closer to the flock and the people.

He carried out a number of important reforms of the Roman Catholic Church, advocated for dialogue between confessions and was active in the international arena. Now an important question arises - who will be the next 267th Pope?

After the death of Pope Francis, the Vatican was orphaned for a time. The period of "sede vacante" - a vacant throne, saturated with symbolism, traditions and strict protocol - began. It plays a key role in the history and governance of the Roman Catholic Church. The central event is the conclave, where the cardinals, as electors, determine the new pope, and the clergy must not be more than 80 years old.

Gary Adler, associate professor at the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California (USA):

"The process of choosing the next pope is called a conclave, and it has two parts. The first is what's actually happening now, where cardinals from all over the world, I think there are 135 of them this year, can vote, basically get to know each other. It's kind of a social event. And then there's the conclave itself, which means "key" in Latin. The cardinals will be locked together and have rounds of voting, debates, until they choose the next pope. White smoke will come out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signifying that the pontiff has been elected."

The election of a new pontiff is politics, peculiar and closed. The Pope is one of the most influential spiritual leaders in the world. The Catholic population has reached 1.4 billion people, which is about 17 % of the world's population. In the conditions of geopolitical turbulence, the role of the new Pope is difficult to overestimate, and the stakes for his election are extremely high.

Alexander Kamkin, political scientist, associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of Russia:

"The entire history of the papacy shows that the Pope is always between a rock and a hard place. Let's remember the Middle Ages, when the German emperors actually fought for influence in the Vatican. Therefore, the influence of secular politicians, the secular world on the Vatican has always been considerable, and now it has even increased."

Those journalists who are currently working in the Vatican say that despite the lack of formal procedures, the behind-the-scenes struggle for influence has intensified in recent days. Francis's pontificate lasted more than 10 years and became one of the most unusual and turning points in the modern history of the Catholic Church. The first pope from Latin America, the first Jesuit in this post, he sought to take the church beyond Europe, reform the curia, soften the rhetoric on a number of sensitive issues and reconfigure the entire Vatican governance system for decades to come.

Robert Mickens, editor of the newspaper La Croix international:

"Pope Francis has not paid much attention to Europe during this pontificate. He has tried to take the focus off Rome and look at the periphery, where the church is actually growing, rather than Europe, where the church is dying. I think it is important to watch the Europeans now, those who are putting forward a candidate who, in their opinion, can get enough votes to win this conclave. Their goal is to turn the church on a different path, to return the Eurocentric character of the church."

At the same time, sources in the Roman curia claim that a number of informal consultations have taken place between influential cardinals from Latin America and Africa. A consolidated position was discussed with the aim of nominating a "non-European" candidate capable of shifting the Vatican's focus from the Euro-Atlantic axis. As expected, Washington also joined the fight for the Holy See. And conservative Catholicism is currently gaining strength in the country of Republicans. Rumor has it that after Francis's funeral, pressure has increased in favor of an unnamed candidate who guarantees a tough line on China.

"We are now seeing a right turn in Europe, we are seeing a right turn in the United States. Pay attention to how many representatives of the Catholic faith we see in the Donald Trump administration - this is not only Marco Rubio, J.D. Vance, but also a number of important politicians who represent the conservative direction of Catholicism," notes Alexander Kamkin.

Lists of the main contenders for the throne have already appeared in the media. The favorites are

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is in fact the second person in the Vatican. He holds the position of Secretary of State and is considered an experienced diplomat. He also visited Belarus in 2015.

Pietro Parolin met with President Alexander Lukashenko, including during the visit of the head of the Belarusian state to the Vatican. He has repeatedly said that Belarus can be a model for our world, which suffers from conflicts.

Another most likely contender is Claudio Gugerotti. He was the apostolic nuncio to Belarus from 2011 to 2015, then carried out the same mission in Ukraine, and then in the UK.

Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle closes the top three. If elected, he will become the first Asian Pope in the history of the Catholic Church. He pays great attention to missionary work with the poor, which is why he received the nickname "Asian Francis". Luis Antonio Tagle is considered one of the most charismatic Catholic leaders in the region, got along well with Pope Francis and shared many of his views.

We cannot discount the Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, whose conservative views find a certain resonance in the context of the defense of traditional values, but his close ties with the Eastern European elites could become an obstacle. The figure of Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna, is interesting due to his focus on diplomacy in the world (he is the Vatican's special envoy for the conflict in Ukraine), but his pro-European orientation, experts say, could hinder him.

Candidates who are not quite typical for the Vatican will also participate in the election of the head of the Holy See. Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah may become the first black Pope, but, as the English press writes, age is not on his side - the priest is 79 years old.

Bookmakers claim that the most likely scenario is the election of a compromise figure, most likely an Italian, not one of the obvious favorites. This will mean an attempt to maintain the status quo and avoid sharp turns in foreign policy. True, their forecasts do not always coincide with reality. For example, in 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was not even considered as a possible candidate, but in the end he became the 266th Pope.

The world will find out very soon who will be his successor. The conclave will begin in the Vatican in early May. However, the voting is not infinite - if a pope is not chosen within 33 rounds, then the two candidates with the greatest support will be selected and the choice will be made from the two of them.