Who will be the next pope?
This decision could have far-reaching consequences for the Catholic Church and the 1,4 billion baptized Roman Catholics.
The election of a new pope will be an extremely unpredictable and open-ended process for a multitude of reasons.
The College of Cardinals will meet in a conclave in the Sistine Chapel to discuss the preferred candidates, then vote on them until only one name remains.
With 80 percent of the cardinals appointed by Pope Francis, they will not only be electing a pope for the first time, but will come from all over the world.
For the first time in history, less than half of those voting will be Europeans.
And while the chorus may be dominated by its appointees, they are not exclusively "progressive" or "traditionalist."
For these reasons, it is harder than ever to predict who will be elected as the next pope.
Can the cardinals elect an African or Asian pope, or will they trust one of the "old hands" of the Vatican administration more?
Here is a selection of the names most frequently mentioned as Francis' potential successors, and we expect there will be more in the coming days.
Pietro Parolin
Nationality: Italian
Age: 70
The eloquent Italian Cardinal Parolin was the Vatican's secretary of state under Pope Francis, making him the pope's chief advisor.
The Secretary of State also heads the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Church.
Since he practically served as the pope's deputy, he could be considered the main favorite.
Some see him as someone who would rather emphasize democracy and a broader perspective than the purity of Catholic dogma.
His critics consider this a problem, while his supporters see it as an advantage.
He criticized the legalization of same-sex marriage around the world, calling the revolutionary 2015 vote in the Republic of Ireland a "defeat for humanity."
The bookies may favor him, but Cardinal Parolin is surely perfectly aware of the old Italian saying that highlights the uncertainty of the papal election process: "He who enters the conclave as pope, leaves it as cardinal."
Some 213 of the previous 266 popes have been Italian, and although there has been no Italian pope in the last 40 years, the distancing of the Church's upper echelons from Italy and Europe could mean that for the time being the new head will not come from Italy.
Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle
Nationality: Filipino
Age: 67
Could Tugl become the first Asian pope?
Unlike Parolin, he has decades of priestly experience behind him, which means he was an active church leader among the people, instead of a Vatican diplomat or an isolated expert on church law.
The church is extremely influential in the Philippines, where Catholics make up about 80 percent of the population.
This country currently has a record five members in the College of Cardinals, which could constitute a significant lobbying faction if they all support Cardinal Tagle.
He is considered a moderate within Catholicism and has been called the "Asian Francis" for his commitment to social issues and sympathy for migrants, which he shared with the late pope.
He opposes the right to abortion, calling it "a form of murder," a view that is consistent with the Church's broader position that life begins at conception.
He also spoke out against euthanasia.
But in 2015, while he was Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Tagle called on the Church to reconsider its "strict" stance on gays, divorcees and single mothers, saying that past strictness had caused lasting harm and made people feel "stigmatized," and that every individual deserved compassion and respect.
The cardinal was considered a candidate for pope as early as the 2013 conclave that elected Francis.
Asked a decade ago how he felt about the suggestion that he could be the next pope, he replied: "I see it as a joke! It's funny."
Fridolin Ambongo Besungu
Nationality: Congolese
Age: 65
It is very possible that the next pope could be from Africa, where the Catholic Church continues to gain millions of new members.
Cardinal Ambongo is the leading candidate, and he hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
He was the Archbishop of Kinshasa for seven years, appointed by Pope Francis.
He is a cultural conservative who opposes same-sex marriage, saying that "same-sex unions are considered to be contrary to cultural norms and inherently evil."
Although Christianity is the majority religion in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Christians there have been killed and persecuted by the jihadist group Islamic State and related rebels.
In light of this, Cardinal Ambongo is considered a fierce defender of the Church.
But in a 2020 interview, he spoke out in favor of religious plurality: "Let Protestants be Protestants and Muslims be Muslims."
"We will cooperate with them. But everyone must preserve their own identity."
Such comments could lead some cardinals to wonder whether he fully embraces their mission, in which Catholics hope to spread the Church's teachings throughout the world.
Peter Kodwo Apia Tarkson
Nationality: Ghanaian
Age: 76
If elected by his colleagues, the influential Cardinal Turkson could also boast of being the first African pope in 1.500 years.
Just like Cardinal Ambongo, he claims he doesn't want the job.
"I'm not sure anyone has ambitions to become pope," he told the BBC in 2013.
Asked whether Africa has a good case to offer the next pope based on the growth of the Church on the continent, he said he thought the pope should not be chosen based on statistics, because "that kind of consideration usually just muddies the waters."
He was the first Ghanaian to become a cardinal, back in 2003, under Pope John Paul II.
Like Cardinal Tagle, Cardinal Turkson was considered a potential pope a decade later, when Francis was elected.
Moreover, bookmakers consider him the favorite ahead of this election.
A guitarist who once played in a funk band, Cardinal Turkson is known for his energetic appearance.
Like many cardinals from Africa, he leans towards conservatism.
However, he opposed the criminalization of gay relationships in African countries, including his native Ghana.
In a 2023 interview with the BBC, while the Ghanaian parliament was debating a bill to introduce harsh penalties for the LGBTQ+ community, Turkson said he believed homosexuality should not be considered a crime.
In 2012, he was accused of spreading fear with predictions about the spread of Islam in Europe at a Vatican bishops' conference, for which he later apologized.
BBC is in Serbian from now on and on YouTube, follow us HERE.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram i Viber. If you have a topic suggestion for us, please contact bbcnasrpskom@bbc.co.uk
Bonus video:
