The College of Cardinals confirmed that 135 members are eligible to participate in the conclave, the Vatican announced, and they asked the faithful to accompany them in prayer as they prepare to elect the next pope.

The following is a snapshot of the papacies of the 11 popes that preceded Pope Francis, from Pope Benedict XVI to Blessed Pope Pius IX.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, the Rome-born president of the Italian bishops’ conference, is frequently mentioned as a probable candidate for pope.

Nearing 80 years old, Italian Cardinal Mario Zenari has spent the past 16 years in the wartorn nation of Syria as papal nuncio.

While much of the world’s attention is on what will happen in the Sistine Chapel and the men who will choose the church’s next leader starting May 7, the enduring legacy of Pope Francis is seen in the women whose voices helped shape — and carry forward — his vision.

True discipleship is not measured by the creeds Christians recite or the theology they know, but by how deeply they love, a cardinal said at a memorial Mass for Pope Francis.

One by one, placing a right hand on the Book of Gospels, staff driving, cooking, cleaning and caring for the cardinals who will elect a new pope will swear an oath of perpetual secrecy about the election of the 266th successor of St. Peter.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who lost the rights associated with being a cardinal after Pope Francis asked him to resign in 2020, said he would obey the late pope’s wishes and not seek to enter the conclave May 7.

When the conclave begins May 7, there will be 117 cardinals who will not be allowed into the Sistine Chapel to take part in the voting process that chooses the next pope.

The Catholic Church and all of humanity want guidance and support in a world filled with toil, doubts and contradictions, said Cardinal Baldassare Reina, papal vicar of Rome.