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And as tributes flood in for the leader of the Catholic Church, focus will soon shift to the crucial process of selecting his successor.

Upon the death or, in rare instances, resignation of a pope, the Vatican initiates what is known as a papal conclave.

This is when the College of Cardinals convenes to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church.

Cardinals, who are the most senior priests in the Catholic Church, travel from all corners of the globe to The Vatican in Rome - the heart of the Church - to participate in the election or conclave.

The latest rules of the papal conclave state that out of the total 252 cardinals, there are 138 electors.

When white smoke is seen, it signifies that a new Pope has been elected.

Merseyside-born Cardinal and Liverpool fan Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, could be a dark horse in the race to become the most influential figure in the Catholic Church.

Born in Crosby in 1945 and leading the Catholic Church in England and Wales since 2009, Nichols has been a cardinal since 2014.

Educated at the Venerable English College in Rome from 1963, he was ordained in December 1969 for the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

When asked about the possibility of succeeding Pope Francis during a 2014 ECHO interview, he responded: "There are some very able men among the cardinals and this is a big church that's in every continent and most nations – and you can't assess and judge the unfolding of events in the Church, except from a broad perspective.