Cardinals arrive for a college of cardinals’ meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi arrives for a college of cardinals’ meeting at the Vatican,

Pope Francis, supreme pastor to almost 1.5 billion Catholics, died on Monday at the age of 88. The papal throne, which now sits vacant, is approximately 2,000 years old. In the past, popes crowned kings and emperors.

An Ohio native is among the Catholic Church cardinals who will choose a new pope. The funeral for Pope Francis, who died Monday at 88, is Saturday.