After two weeks of mourning, the Catholic Church is preparing to elect its new leader.
On Wednesday, the conclave begins at the Vatican. The new pope will lead around 1.4 billion Catholics globally, including over 60 million Americans.
Americans in Rome
You don't have to look far in Rome to come across Catholic Americans.
"It's sad, but it is kinda happy that there is going to be a new pope," Pearl Glorioso from Illinois said.
"It's history in the making you know," Brenda Bolhouse from Michigan added.
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In St. Peter's Square, sadness over Pope Francis's death has turned into excitement about the possibilities a new leader may bring. There are Americans who traveled to Rome, like Marlene Kelleher from Florida, who would like the new pope to be just like Pope Francis.
"This last one was the best one to me," Kelleher said.
However, not every American is a Pope Francis fan. Pearl and Mauro Glorioso want the church to go in a more conservative direction.
"We have kinda gotten progressive, and I want to stay true to the church," Pearl Glorioso said.
Ultimately, it will be 133 cardinals deciding which direction the Catholic Church will take. There may not be another conclave for decades.
As is tradition, whenever a new pope is elected, white smoke will billow out from the chimney in the Sistine Chapel. That chimney, which isn't a permanent fixture at the Vatican, was installed in recent days in preparation.
Mauro Glorioso was in St. Peter's Square when Pope Benedict was elected in 2005.
"It is an electric moment, I mean you just can't describe it," Glorioso said.
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To be elected pope, two-thirds of the voting cardinals will need to agree, making the magic number 89. Technically, any baptized male can be elected, but since the 1300s, it's always been a cardinal.
Ten American cardinals are participating in the conclave, making the U.S. a powerful voting bloc.
"I would love to have an American, but I've always heard that the strongest country, they aren't going to vote for a pope from the strongest superpower," Rev. David Daly from St. Louis told Scripps News.
Rev. Daly helps lead the Legionaries of Christ in Rome and says guessing who might be the new pope may be a waste of time.
Whenever the new pope is elected, shortly thereafter, he will emerge in white from the balcony atop St. Peter's Basilica to bless the faithful gathered.
The longest conclave took three years way back in the 13th Century. Pope Francis was elected after two days and five rounds of voting.
