Who will POPE?

Conclave is a fictional film on the closed-door process of appointing a new pontiff - did they get it right?

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Myths and facts

He was known as the People's Pope thanks to his humility and kindness, and will be a tough act to follow. But a successor has to be found for the late Pope Francis, so the highly secretive election to choose anew pontiff, called a conclave, is getting underway in the coming days.

More people are aware of the process of choosing a leader of the Catholic Church thanks to it being dramatised in the 2024 Oscar-winning movie Conclave, but there's still plenty of mystery surrounding the centuriesold tradition. Here's what we do know about what goes on behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel.

Who gets to vote?

The new pope is chosen by cardinals in the Catholic Church, but only those aged under 80 are allowed to vote. That means 135 cardinals will get to take part in this conclave, including New Zealand Cardinal John Dew.

Twenty of the cardinals voting in this conclave were appointed by Pope Francis in December and are believed to support the modern ideals he stood for, such as LGBTQ inclusivity. Overall, as many as 80 percent of electors voting for his successor were chosen by him throughout his 12 years as head of the church.

Sequestered in secret

The conclave takes place in the Sistine Chapel, where the cardinals swear an oath of secrecy. The doors are locked and the famous Swiss Guards are posted outside. Cell phones and other devices are banned.

The cardinals used to have to sleep on cots in rooms in the chapel. Now they spend nights in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, a guesthouse next to St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Narrowing it down