SHOTLIST VATICAN CITY, VATICAN (MAY 7, 2025) (ANADOLU – ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF ST. PETER’S SQUARE / WORSHIPPERS AT SQUARE 2. VARIOUS OF ST. PETER’S BASILICAVATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MAY 7, 2025: Cardinals from around the world will vote in a secret conclave to elect the next pope, on Wednesday, May 7, following the death of Pope Francis. Footage from St. Peter Square shows worshippers around the world waiting for the result of conclave. Cardinals inside the Sistine Chapel will signal the outcome of the papal conclave using centuries-old smoke signals—white smoke rising from the chapel’s chimney will announce the election of a new pope, while black smoke will indicate that no decision has been reached. The closed-door gathering will begin inside the Sistine Chapel and will include around 135 cardinals. The election process, steeped in centuries-old tradition, comes after Pope Francis died on Easter Monday. His funeral was held on 26 April. There is no official timescale for how long the conclave may last, though the previous two papal elections—in 2005 and 2013—were both concluded within two days. Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936, to Italian immigrant parents. He studied in Argentina and later in Germany before being ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1969. Over a decade into his papacy, he remained a figure of admiration and controversy. He sought to reform the Vatican’s bureaucracy, tackle corruption, and address some of the church’s most pressing challenges. The pope was admitted to a hospital in Rome in February with bronchitis, which developed into bilateral pneumonia. He was discharged after 38 days to continue his recovery at his Vatican residence.