Pope Francis has been laid to rest, the conclave has been assembled and, after due deliberation by the participating cardinals, the world at last has seen white smoke wafting from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling that a new pope has been elected.
So, what happens next?
There have been just seven papal elections in the last 100 years, with more than a quarter-century passing between the election of Pope John Paul II in October 1978 and that of his successor, Benedict XVI, in April 2005. And now as then, longstanding tradition dictates both the practical and ceremonial steps that occur between the new pontiff’s election and when he is officially installed as the leader of the world Catholic Church.
While it can take days, weeks or longer for the cardinals comprising the conclave to reach the two-thirds majority required to elect a new pope – the record is 1,006 days, set in the 13th century – once the election is over, the subsequent events transpire with impressive speed.
Cardinals participate in a holy mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff, prior to the start of the conclave, at St Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican.
Francesco Sforza/Vatican Media/AFP via Getty Images
Countdown to first public appearance
The first announcement to the world that a new pope has been selected is signaled per tradition by ringing the bells as St. Peter’s Basilica as white smoke – fumata bianca – issues from the stovepipe chimney atop the Sistine Chapel. With those ceremonial notices, an informal countdown begins to the moment that the new pope’s identity is revealed to the world.
While the faithful typically congregate in St. Peter’s Square daily during the conclave, the public signal that a pontiff has been chosen precipitates a surge of observers rushing to be among the first to see the new pope in person.
Although much ceremony remains, it’s important to note that the newly elected pope’s full authority and jurisdiction begins immediately upon his acceptance of the office, which he of course must do before any public announcement – if he refuses the office, the conclave continues the balloting.
A view shows the central balcony (Loggia delle Benedizioni) of St. Peter’s Basilica, ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope takes place at the Vatican, as seen from Rome, Italy, May 7, 2025.
Amanda Perobelli/Reuters
As soon as the new pontiff has assented to his election the conclave ends, though the assembled cardinals will remain at the Vatican until the attendant ceremonies are over. In 2013, Francis requested that the cardinals remain in Rome for an extra day to pray with him.
Meanwhile, the new pope is formally asked by what name he will be known. While popes aren’t obliged to change their name, every pontiff for the past 470 years has done so, usually choosing the name of a predecessor to both honor them and signal their intention to emulate his example. Pope Francis was a notable exception, choosing not the name of a former pope but that of St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th century cleric and patron saint of animals and the environment.
The only pontifical name that hasn’t been used more than once is Peter, the name of the first pope, though there’s no prohibition against doing so.
Papal clothing for his first appearance
The next step is to get the new pope attired for his first public appearance. The liturgical garments – such as robes, stoles and hats – worn by the pope and other Christian church officials are known as vestments. Since 1798, the pope’s vestments have been manufactured by the Gammarelli family tailors in Rome, who first made the garments for Pope Pius VI. This year, however, ecclesiastical tailor Ranieri Manchinelli, also in Rome, has prepared the new pope’s vestments.
Since no one knows who will be elected pope – and therefore, what size clothing the new pope will require – three sets of vestments are prepared ahead of time for his first public appearance, in sizes small, medium and large.
Roman tailor Annibale Gammarelli made three versions, small, medium and large of the white vestments that the new pope will wear when he first appears to the world.
Eric Vandeville/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
The vestments are placed in the Stanza delle Lacrime, or Room of Tears, which is a small sacristy, or clergy preparation area, just off the Sistine Chapel. It’s here that the new pope will dress in his temporary vestments as the world awaits his first public appearance. However, there’s still a final bit of ceremony to complete.
The Fisherman’s Ring
Once attired in his vestments, the pontiff returns to the Sistine Chapel and sits on a papal chair. The camerlengo – that is, the cardinal who oversees the conclave, in this case Cardinal Kevin Ferrell – then escorts the master of ceremonies who bears the Fisherman’s Ring on a velvet cushion to the new pope. Pope Francis’ ring was ceremonially broken after his death – a ritual signifying the formal end of his papal authority and marking the transition of leadership and the close of his chapter in Church history.
Perhaps more than any other item, the Fisherman’s Ring in popular culture is most closely identified with papal authority. So named in honor of St. Peter the Apostle, a fisherman and the first pope, Catholics who meet the pope traditionally kiss the ring to demonstrate both their respect for the pontiff and their devotion to the Church.
Italian cardinal Angelo Sodano (R) puts the Fisherman’s Ring, made of gold-plated silver, on a finger of Pope Francis during his grandiose inauguration mass on March 19, 2013 at the Vatican.
Alberto PIzzoli/AFP via Getty Images
The camerlengo places the Fisherman’s Ring on the fourth finger of the pope’s right hand, then kneels and kisses it. The pope then removes the ring and gives it to the master of ceremonies, who will have the new pope’s name inscribed on it.
The assembled cardinals next step up in turn and pay homage to the new pope, who leads them in a hymn and also gives them his benediction – the first blessing of his pontificate.
‘Habemus papam’
Now fittingly attired in his temporary vestments, the new pope enters St. Peter’s Basilica for the formal announcement of his election and the revelation of his identity to the faithful and the world.
With thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square below, the attendant cardinals first emerge onto the side balconies of the St. Peter’s Basilica facade. The senior cardinal deacon then appears on the central balcony and declares in Latin: “Nuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus papam” – “I announce to you a great joy: We have a pope.”
The senior cardinal deacon then announces both the birth name of the elected cardinal, and the pontifical name the new pope has chosen for himself.
It is only now – typically a mere hour or so after the white smoke first emerged from the stovepipe chimney of the Sistine Chapel – that the new pope, clad in his papal vestments, steps out onto the balcony and greets the world. He immediately delivers his first Apostolic Urbi et Orbi blessing – meaning to “the city and the world.”
Newly elected Pope Francis I appears on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.
Alessandra Benedetti – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Formal installation in office
A ceremonial mass to formally install the new pope is held about a week after his election, either in St. Peter’s Square or basilica, with cardinals, bishops and other international dignitaries present. While the ceremony historically featured far more pomp and pageantry akin to a coronation – including the pope being literally crowned with a triregnum, or three-tiered tiara, and sitting on an ornate papal throne – much of that pageantry has been abandoned.
Pope Paul VI was the last to wear the triregnum, during his installation in 1963. He also was the first to hold the ceremony outdoors, in St. Peter’s Square, to accommodate the enormous crowds that wished to attend.
ABC News’ Phoebe Natanson contributed to this report.
