Now that the 133 cardinal electors are ensconced in the Sistine Chapel to elect a successor to Pope Francis, some potential candidates have come to the fore.

When else do we get an opportunity like this, to take someone at this level of leadership at face value?

For these next days of waiting, first and foremost for the cardinals in conclave and then also for all of us: Come, Holy Spirit, bringing wisdom, discernment and patience.

What we know about the protocols being followed by the cardinals in conclave—and what happens next

Some five hours after the opening Mass, the cardinals were to process into the Sistine Chapel, swear an oath to uphold the conclave rules, listen to a final reflection and—if they chose to do so—conduct the first ballot.

Perhaps a revealing question is whether the church will continue the radical novelty Francis brought as a pope from a religious order—and whether this is the continuity needed now.