Francis’ successor will be selected by cardinals at the conclave that began on May 7. Cardinals, known as the “princes of the church,” rank just below the pope in the Roman Catholic Church; together, they are known as the College of Cardinals. When a pope dies, the college chooses a successor.

The first thing the new pope will do is choose a name. In the history of the papacy, the most commonly used name has been John, first chosen in 523 by Saint John I, the Vatican says. The last pope to choose that name was Italian Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, elected Pope John XXIII, in 1958. Roncalli was proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis in 2014.