After papal passing, what comes next?

ROME – Now that Pope Francis has died after returning to the Vatican after a prolonged hospital stay to fight a respiratory infection and pneumonia, his passing has marked the beginning of papal transition phase, when the church mourns the late pontiff and prepares to elect another.

For centuries, the process of a papal transition has been a source of vast interest and intrigue, the latest example of which is last year’s film Conclave starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Sergio Castellitto...