Rules surrounding who can become the next pope as reason why it will never be a woman is revealed

With Pope Francis’ funeral taking place this Saturday (26 April), thoughts will inevitably turn to choosing his successor, and there are a series of strict rules around who can be chosen as the new pope.

Camerlengo Kevin Farrell announced the Pope’s death on Monday (21 April), and following a nine-day period of mourning that will begin after Francis’ funeral, 135 cardinal electors will gather in the Vatican to elect a new pope.

The top secret process is called a conclave, in which the voting cardinals are sequestered in the Sistine chapel and the doors are locked behind them.

The cardinals vote until one candidate gets a two-thirds majority, after which white smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and a new pope is announced.

The longest conclave of the 20th century was five days in 1922, but back in 1268 a conclave lasted a whopping two years and nine months. Some conclaves last just one day.

But who is and isn’t eligible for the highest office in the Catholic church?

A ceremony in 2022 in which Pope Francis made 20 new cardinals (Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Why can’t a woman be pope?

There is no Biblical doctrine stating that women can’t be pope, but Catholics argue that precedent suggests popes must be men.

This is because Jesus chose 12 men to be his disciples, who in turn chose men to take over from them in leading the church.

Michele Dillon, a sociologist at the University of New Hampshire, told NBC: “Even if the current pope was the most feminist person you could meet and believes women should be priests, they want to be faithful to what they see as Jesus's intentions.”

What are the requirements to be pope?

The requirements to become pope are incredibly simple - you have to be a baptised Catholic and you have to be male.

The pope doesn’t have to be a cardinal, although since it’s cardinals voting they have chosen from among their number for the last 500 years.

The pope doesn’t even have to be a priest - with Pope Leo X being the last non-priest Pope to be elected in 1513. He was quickly ordained as a priest and then consecrated as bishop before being crowned as pope.

Black smoke means no candidate has received a two-thirds majority to be pope (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Who are the favourites to become the next pope?

According to Reuters, the cardinals most likely to becomes the next pope include Frenchman Jean-Marc Aveline, 66; Hungarian cardinal Peter Erdo, 72; Maltese cardinal Mario Grech, 68; Spanish cardinal Juan Jose Omella, 79; Italian cardinal Pietro Parolin, 70; Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, 67; US cardinal Joseph Tobin; Ghanaian cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, 76; and Italian archbishop Matteo Maria Zuppi, 69,