The next papal conclave will occur after the death or resignation of Pope Francis.

The next conclave saw speculation in February and March 2025 after Francis developed double pneumonia.^[1]

The conclave cardinals may elect any baptized Catholic male,^[2][3] but since 1389 they have always elected a fellow cardinal. Observers of papal elections tend to consider a few cardinals more likely choices than the others – these are the papabili, the plural for papabile, an Italian word which is practically rendered into English as "pope-able". Inasmuch as the set of papabili is a matter of speculation from the press, the election of a non-papabile is common; recent cases are John XXIII in 1958, John Paul I and John Paul II, both in 1978.

Pietro Parolin of Italy,^[4] Robert Sarah of Guinea,^[4] and Luis Tagle of the Philippines^[4] are among the cardinals most often identified in press reports as those most likely to be elected.

Cardinals aged 80 years or older before the day the papacy fell vacant will be ineligible to participate. As of 1 March 2025, there are 252 cardinals of whom 137 are aged under 80. Since the Romano Pontifici eligendo, a maximum of 120 cardinals can participate in a conclave; it is unclear how they will be chosen when the number of eligible cardinals exceeds 120.^[5]