Pope Francis has passed away at the age of 88, and with that all the followers have their eyes set on the Conclave, a historic vote to select the new head.
On Monday, April 21, Vatican announced the death of Pope Francis, who has been suffering from health scare since almost two months.
The new pope would be elected from within the College of Cardinals, who gather to choose a new pontiff.
If they land on one candidate with majority of the votes, the new pope selection would be signalled to the world with the white smoke.
As per the Vatican insiders, in a pool of conservatives and liberals, there are six leading contenders for the position of the new head of the worldwide Catholic Church.
Here’s what we know about them:
1. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle
The Filipino prelate is a longstanding contender for the papacy and is considered liberal and is know to criticised the Church's view on divorce and same-sex relationship.
He's is the closest candidate, who have the potential to move forward with Pope Francis's attempt to modernise the institute.
2. Cardinal Pietro Parolin
The Vatican's influential top diplomat has been making his way to become people's favourite.
Pietro also hold liberal views and recently shared that he was hoping for "an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people," and also urged Europe to "rediscover itself" in order to move with the rest of the world.
3. Cardinal Wim Eijk
The main conservative contender is a former Dutch doctor, who has severely opposed Pope Francis over his endorsement of civil marriages and also criticised the Pope for not rejecting a proposal that would allow Protestant participate in Catholic communion.
4. Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu
Representing the conservation African wing, the 65-year-old Archbishop of Kinshasa is best known for rejecting Pope Francis' declaration allowing priests to bless unmarried and same-sex couples.
5. Cardinal Peter Erdo
The 72-year-old Hungarian has previously opposed divorcing or remarried Catholics receiving the Holy Communion.
He has also been a vocal opponent of European nations accepting refugees.
6. Cardinal Raymond Burke
As an arch-conservative American, Burke has previously challenged Pope Francis acceptance to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive the Eucharist.
Conclave, the historic vote is expected to take place between 16 to 20 days after the Pope's death, at Sistine Chapel, Vatican City.
