The identity of the next pope is “totally unpredictable”, a Vatican expert said, adding that the timely release of the film Conclave has likely sparked the public’s interest in the centuries-old process. Cardinals will gather to vote for Pope Francis’s successor at the behind-closed-doors meeting, known as conclave, following nine days of mourning.

The Catholic Church will bid farewell to Pope Francis this weekend as he is laid to rest in St. Peter's Square in a funeral.

Contrary to his doctors’ orders to stay essentially isolated in his Vatican residence to recover, the pope resumed a limited schedule after his release from the hospital. A day