White smoke emerges from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on March 13, 2013, when Pope Francis was elected Pope Benedict XVI’s successor. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

After the death of a pope, the Vatican will follow a series of rituals outlined by the constitution known as Universi Dominici Gregis (Of the Lord’s Whole Flock).

Traditionally, there is a mourning period of 15 days before a conclave to choose the next pope can begin, but Pope Benedict modified this rule in 2013 to allow cardinals to either start earlier or delay it to a maximum of 20 days after the pope’s death. The conclave meetings require cardinals to vote on candidates who could become the next pope.

Right now, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo who announced Francis’s death, will oversee any decisions that affect global Roman Catholic Church members. The heads of most of the Vatican departments will step down and resign until they are either confirmed by the next pope to hold their positions or replaced.

Cardinals from around the world will now travel to Rome and join in daily meetings — known as general congregations — to discuss what they are looking for in the next appointed pope. Any cardinals who are 80 years of age or older can attend these general meetings, but they are not part of the conclave.

Around 120 cardinals will vote twice a day in these conclave meetings — except for the first conclave, in which they only vote once — and are not allowed to communicate with the outside world. A two-thirds majority is needed for a candidate to be elected pope, and it must happen within 13 days of conclave voting.

After the conclave has elected a pope, the candidate will be asked whether he accepts the position and what name he wants. If he rejects the position, the voting process starts all over again.

The world will know when a new pope is elected when the paper ballots are burned with special chemicals that make white smoke come out of the chapel’s chimney.