Pope Francis passed away on Monday at the age of 88 after being hospitalized for double pneumonia for over a month.

The pontiff was last seen in public on Sunday, April 20, as thousands gathered at St. Peter’s Square to get a glance at Francis. Early Monday, Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced that the pontiff had passed away.

“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church,” said Farrell.

Following the pope’s death, the question of what happens next arises. Cardinals have certainly already discussed Francis’ potential successor, and have top contenders in mind to avoid a lengthy conclave.

The last time there was a papal vacancy, in 2013, the now-late Pope Benedict XVI, then 85, resigned the position, the first pope to do so in 600 years.

It took two weeks for Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, to be elected and choose the name Francis.

By Vatican standards, “two weeks is not a long time,” said John Thavis, a papal expert and author of “The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church.”

But it’s unlikely that the next transition will take as long.

“One reason is that the cardinals are very much aware that the world is watching and waiting,” Thavis told The Post. “A drawn-out conclave lasting a week or more would inevitably invite speculation about division at the highest levels of the church. Even worse, a long conclave would probably lose the world’s interest. The fear is that the network anchors would be packing their bags if there’s no white smoke within a week.”

There’s likely to be even more attention on the Vatican thanks to “Conclave,” the Academy Award-nominated film from 2024 that was, for many Americans, their first peek into what happens behind the scenes during the passing of the mitre. 

Here's how Pope Francis' successor will be chosen:

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In it, power-hungry cardinals conspire and blackmail to become the next pontiff, with round after round of voting that’s nearly disrupted by a terrorist bomb attack on the Vatican.

But there isn’t much truth to the movie, at least according to Susan Hanssen, PhD, associate professor of history at the University of Dallas, who said “Conclave” was “drenched with banal leftist jargon.”

“It’s essentially a form of propaganda to influence the way the papal conclave is perceived at this moment,” she told The Post. “No one should mistake the Hollywood movie for the ‘inside scoop’ on historical reality.”

What the film did get right was the general timeline of events. When the current pope dies or resigns, there are two phases in the search for his replacement. “First is a preliminary period that allows for discussion among all the cardinals,” Thavis explained. “The conclave itself, when cardinals vote in the Sistine Chapel, is hermetically sealed as far as public information goes.”

Because papal elections require a two-thirds majority, there’s always the possibility of a deadlocked conclave. “But in modern times, the voting in the Sistine Chapel has never lasted more than a few days,” Thavis said. The last lengthy conclave was in 1740; it lasted six months. The longest conclave on record, from 1268, lasted 34 months. 

Although cardinals do lobby for papal candidates, unlike the movie, it tends to be “very low-key,” noted Thavis. They might talk among themselves, but any overt campaigning is considered bad form.

“And no cardinal would campaign for himself,” Thavis insisted. “That’s the kiss of death.” In fact, any kind of “wheeling and dealing,” as is typical in politics — like the offer of favors or future appointments promised in exchange for votes — is not only frowned upon but could result in excommunication.

In one memorable scene from “Conclave,” Cardinal Aldo Bellini (played by Stanley Tucci) admits that every archbishop or cardinal has secretly already picked out their papal name. This isn’t true, Thavis said, “because most cardinals know their chance of being elected is close to zero.” If they do harbor “what if” scenarios, they keep those ambitions to themselves and “are careful not to reveal it to the others.”

And the reality is that the majority of cardinals “would run screaming into the night rather than seek the job,” said John L. Allen Jr., a Vatican expert and author of “All the Pope’s Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Thinks.”

The papacy may seem like the ultimate career goal for any cardinal, but many consider it “a life sentence, or at least a burden you’re expected to carry until you’re too old and broken to do anything else,” Allen told The Post. “It’s not like being president of the United States, putting in your four or eight years, then collecting six-figure speaking fees and playing golf all day.”

Plus, the life of a retired cardinal is a good deal. “You still get treated like a prince, you get the best seats at all the restaurants and theaters, but you don’t have to go to work in the morning,” said Allen.

Although any baptized Roman Catholic male is technically eligible to be elected pope, only cardinals have been chosen since 1378. That’s unlikely to change with this transition. “The rule about any baptized male was made when the number of cardinals was quite small, so there was a practical benefit in widening the field,” said Thavis. “But that’s not true today.” There are currently 252 cardinals, 137 of whom are under 80 years old and thus eligible as cardinal electors.

A bigger question is, could an American cardinal be in the running?

There are several Americans considered promising candidates, such as Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, the retired archbishop of Boston, and Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, the retired archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri. But Hanssen thinks it’s the longest of long shots. Although the US has the largest number of cardinal electors in the conclave outside of Italy, there has never been an American-born pope.

Some of it is political. American cardinals “are often seen as culture warriors,” Thavis said. “The divisions among the US Catholic hierarchy, along with veiled and not-so-veiled criticism of Pope Francis, have made other cardinals wary of electing an American pope.”

Timothy M. Dolan, the archbishop of New York, could be a contender, “but the main knock against Dolan is that he’s simply too American,” Allen said. That’s not to say he won’t get serious consideration.

“He’s seen as charismatic, articulate, and someone certainly capable of holding his own on the global stage, having served as the chief shepherd of the media capital of the universe,” Allen added. “Nonetheless, I suspect you’d have to rate Dolan as a long shot, not a favorite.”

For an American to be considered, he’d have to be the “right” kind of American, said Allen. “Someone with significant experience abroad, a capacity with languages, and the perception of being humble and open rather than playing to stereotypes of American arrogance.”

The current front-runners include Italian Cardinals Pietro Parolin, the current Vatican secretary of state, and Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian bishops’ conference.

“Probably also on that list should be Cardinal Mario Grech of Malta, currently head of the Vatican’s Synod of Bishops, and Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the pope’s top charitable official,” said Allen.

Thavis considers Parolin the “safe” choice because he’s “an Italian who knows the Roman Curia and has been close to Francis.” But, he noted, “he has practically no pastoral experience” — work as a parish priest or diocesan bishop — “which will count against him.”

Above all, what many are hoping for in the next pope is a “return to normalcy,” said Hanssen: somebody who embodies what the faithful expect from a pope, and might even inspire those who’ve drifted away from the church to return.

Thavis concurs. “They’ll try to find someone who endorses Pope Francis’ more welcoming vision of the church, but perhaps with more cautious and careful language than Francis employed,” he said.

One point that almost everyone can agree on, said Allen, is that “whatever comes next, a little more calm would be nice.” Pope Francis had some controversies during his pontificate, including his stances on abortion, divorce, and LGBTQ+ acceptance. “Whether you love Pope Francis or loathe him, all agree it’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride.”