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The death of Pope Francis sets in motion a carefully orchestrated transition aimed at ensuring the stability and continuity of the Roman Catholic Church. Here’s what happens next. wapo.st/4isdiAK

The pope’s death is certified by the Vatican’s director of health and hygiene who serves in the role of the “camerlengo” and facilitates the papal transition and arranges for the destruction of the lead papal seal and the papal ring, which are unique to each pope.

That destruction prevents forgeries and symbolically signals that the church has entered a period of “sede vacante,” when the throne of St. Peter is empty. The tolling of the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica accompanies the public acknowledgment of the death of the pope. wapo.st/4cGPjMB

The body of Pope Francis, dressed in red, will remain in his private chapel until a public viewing in the basilica. Previous popes were placed on a raised bier, but Francis did away with those guidelines, and his body will lie directly in a zinc-lined coffin. wapo.st/4cGPjMB

Fifteen to 20 days after the pope’s death, red-cloaked members of the College of Cardinals will gather in the Sistine Chapel to choose the next pontiff. wapo.st/4cGPjMB

To be elected pope, a candidate must receive the support of two-thirds of those voting. After each unsuccessful vote, the cardinals burn the ballots and activate a cartridge of chemicals that will release black smoke through a chimney visible from St. Peter’s Square. wapo.st/4cGPjMB

Once the cardinals elect a new pope, the dean of the College of Cardinals — currently Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re of Italy — asks whether he will accept the responsibility, and, if so, what his papal name will be.