Vatican City - For several days, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church have been gliding on the walls of the Vatican, gathering at the discreet dinner of the old Trattorias and meeting secretly in private living rooms across Rome.
Under the mission of electing new leaders of 1.4 billion Catholics, the church’s Red Hat Prince has been having a feverish discussion as they try to identify the ideal successor to Pope Francis, who died last month.
On Wednesday, 4:30 GMT (14:30 GMT), 133 Cardinals under 80 will march to the voice of prayer during a solemn parade and enter Sistine Chapel to attend the meeting.
Speaking about this year’s election process, Marco Politi, a Vatican expert and author of the book Wolf Pope Francis, said: “There is a new factor.
“The south of the world is walking around, asking to listen and want to express its opinions – that is not enough to outline these issues from the center or the northern hemisphere.”
The conference will be characterized by different views of cardinals in more than 70 countries. This range is seen as the legacy of Pope Francis, who appointed 80% of the people who were eligible to vote to expand the church's global reach.
Most cardinals have never seen before this week. Their mission is not easy.
Experts say key issues have been trying to determine whether to move forward on the road to Francis, a pope who pushed the boundaries but did not break them.
"They are looking for memorialists, mediators, and a charismatic pastor who knows how to get close to the people," Politi said.
A series of topics emerged from the discussion before the group.
The agenda was occupied by the agenda, and it was the need to find a unified figure to repair the deeply divided church and the place of the institution in global politics.
Amid tensions, critical clergy rejected a 2018 agreement between the Holy See and China, which gave Beijing some comments when appointing the Catholic bishop because Catholics were suppressed by the Communist Party.
In pre-criticism meetings, some urged to open up other religions (the trademark of Pope Francis) to fear that the Catholic identity would be downplayed.
There is also a career crisis as faithful people enter the priesthood.
The Cardinal also spoke about the church’s sexual abuse and economic scandal, which the Vatican spokesman defined as “wounds” to remain “open” to remind you of what you do.
Others talked about the controversial issue of opening churches to laymen and women – the process initiated by Francis.
The Vatican on Tuesday provided insights about the qualities the Cardinal seeks among competitors, called Papabil.
Its announcement reads: "One must attend, close, be able to be a bridge and guide, tend to disoriented human communication marked by the crisis of the world order; a shepherd who is close to the real life of the people."
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin is one of the most repetitive names of bookmakers.
Skilled diplomats who are seen as knowledge of diplomatic nuances, viewed by many as moderates, who may attract votes from the most conservative and liberal camps.
Last week, the 70-year-old was targeted by reports circulating in right-wing American Catholic social media accounts, claiming he suffered from health fears and needed medication. This was quickly refuted by the Vatican.
Another possible Papabilee is Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. Filipinos cheer as the world's largest number of Catholics, and Filipinos are often referred to as "Asian Francis" due to their pastoral approach.
The 67-year-old, who is also a target for us and Italian conservative Catholic social media, appeared in the video, singing to him a videotape from six years ago, which accused him of being heretical - the lyrics of the pop song featured "Imagine that there is no heaven... no religion..."
Another Italian who is often mentioned is Cardinal Pierbattisa Pizzaballa.
Observers say the 60-year-old is the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and his experience in the Middle East may prove useful in running institutions known for their intra-type struggles. However, others think he is too young.
Most conservative cardinals may rallied behind Budapest Archbishop Peter Erdo. The 72-year-old said opposing permission to divorced Catholics to receive communion and had previously taken an anti-immigration stance.
However, naming leaders is usually meaningless.
As a famous Roman saying goes, “He who took the Pope as the Pope, regarded him as the cardinal.” This hints at an unpredictable conclusion.
Guess, gossip and fake news won't enter the majestic Sistine Church on Wednesday.
At that time, the church windows would be covered, the Cardinal's phone number was confiscated, and contacted with prohibited outsiders.
The new pope will require at least 89 votes to be elected.
If the two-thirds majority is not reached, the Cardinal will gather four rounds of votes again every day. There is no limit to how long they can extend the voting process, but recent history of cardinals and past experiences have shown that it won’t last more than five days.
The eyes of the world will point to the chimney of Sistine Church. If there is no election of the Pope, the crowd in St. Peter's Square will see black smoke if he has white smoke.
If so, one of the cardinals will appear from the balcony of the cathedral and declare: "Habemus Papam!" (the Latin word for "We have a Pope") Before letting the new pope show himself to the believers.