A pope is laid to rest. What comes next?

The eyes of the world were on St Peter’s Square this weekend as the funeral Mass of Pope Francis took place in view of international representatives and people watching at home.

Estimates indicate that as many as 250,000 people attended the funeral Mass earlier, with a further 150,000 lining the streets of Rome as people said goodbye to their Bishop. On Friday evening, figures released by the Vatican said some 250,000 people had filed past the coffin of Pope Francis in St Peter’s Basilica between 11am on Wednesday and 6pm on Friday.

Francis’s death was met with anguish and dismay by Catholics who saw his papacy as the first significant beacon of hope for reform in the church since the Second Vatican Council ended in 1965. As well as grieving a man whose personal warmth, humour, and avuncular style charmed so many, they will be riven by an anxiety that, as followed the death of Pope John XXIII in 1963, any impetus for change Francis set in train may die with him.

Much has been written, and will be written, about the legacy left behind by Francis. As Patsy McGarry noted, during his papacy Francis clashed with traditionalists as he pushed for a more inclusive Catholic Church. He spoke out tirelessly for migrants and the marginalised, urged an end to global conflicts and highlighted the need to protect the environment. He was seen as the most conciliatory pontiff towards the LGBTQ community and urged laws criminalising homosexuality to end. Francis brought change even if in some respects, such as the treatment of women, many will wish he went much further.

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On our Opinion page, former Irish president Mary McAleese has evaluated the mark Francis made, or perhaps didn’t make. McAleese prefers “leaven” to “legacy” when discussing his papacy; a potential rising agent for change: “The sad reality is that Francis talked a good story for the journalists down the back of the plane, but when it came to putting pen to paper to change magisterial teaching he took the timid path and left a flip-flopping, perplexing legacy which could yet transform into a leaven – possibly or possibly not. Much depends now on his successor."

Scenes of tribute and mourning populated feeds and news websites on Saturday as Catholics bid farewell to the head of their church. Next, focus will turn to the conclave and the future of the church at a pivotal moment. Of the cardinal electors, 80 per cent were appointed by Pope Francis, which may indicate his successor just might be in the same mould. Here, Patsy McGarry profiled six men considered papal candidates or “papabile” – translated from the Italian “pope-able”. This week, McGarry also outlined one certainty about the upcoming selection for Francis’s successor: it will be like no other before.

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