Conclave: Why election of Pope Francis’s successor will be like no other

In all the uncertainty that precedes any conclave to elect a pontiff, there is at least one given about composition of the conclave that will name a successor to Pope Francis – it will be like no other before.

His desire to reach out to the peripheries applied not alone to those on the edges of society, but geographically too.

During his 12 years as pope, he appointed cardinals from 76 countries, 25 of which had never been represented in the College of Cardinals before. They include Sweden, Haiti, Myanmar, El Salvador, Sweden, Luxembourg and South Sudan.

There are 252 members of the college, 135 of whom are under the age of 80 and so eligible to vote in a conclave. However, all cardinals can take part in discussions which precede the conclave. This would include Ireland’s only college member, Cardinal Seán Brady, former archbishop of Armagh, who is 85 and therefore cannot vote.