When the Smoke Rises: What Comes After Pope Francis

Pope Francis is gone. What happens next?

Pope Francis is gone. He died on Easter Monday, and just like that, the Vatican entered one of the most guarded and ritualized transitions on Earth—the death of a pope and the election of his successor.

It’s called the Papal Interregnum.

When a pope dies, the world mourns. But inside the Vatican, things move fast. The papal apartment is sealed shut. It’s …