The decision will be made by a conclave of 138 cardinal-electors from around the world.
Among them are four Poles: Cardinals Stanisław Ryłko, Kazimierz Nycz, Konrad Krajewski, and Grzegorz Ryś.
Under the apostolic constitution Romano Pontifici eligendo, issued by Pope Paul VI in 1975, only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote in a conclave.
Although there are currently 252 cardinals worldwide, only 138 meet this criterion.
Poland currently has five cardinals, but only four are young enough to participate in the vote. The former secretary to Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, who is 85, is no longer eligible due to his age.
Cardinal Ryłko, now 79, remains eligible but will turn 80 on July 4, after which he will lose his voting rights.
Two of the current Polish electors, Krajewski and Ryś, were appointed cardinals by Pope Francis.
Krajewski, who was serving as the papal almoner, received the title on June 28, 2018.
Ryś, the archbishop of Łódź, was elevated on September 30, 2023.
The other three Polish cardinals, Dziwisz, Ryłko and Nycz, were appointed by Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinals Ryłko and Krajewski both serve in senior positions at the Vatican.
Ryłko, a longtime Vatican official, has served as secretary and then prefect of the now-defunct Pontifical Council for the Laity. He was made a cardinal in 2007.
Krajewski was appointed titular archbishop of Beneventum and papal almoner by Pope Francis in 2013.
He became a cardinal in 2018 and currently heads the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, a body created in 2022 as part of Pope Francis' reform of the Roman Curia.
Krajewski is also a member of Vatican bodies overseeing liturgy and social development.
Cardinal Ryś, who received his red hat in late 2023, is a member of the Vatican’s liturgy and bishops’ congregations and participated in the first General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality in October 2023.
Cardinal Nycz, former archbishop of Warsaw, became a bishop in 1988 and was appointed cardinal by Benedict XVI in 2010.
He has served on several Vatican bodies, including those dealing with liturgy, clergy and culture.
To be elected pope, a candidate must receive a two-thirds majority of votes cast in the conclave.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP