Pope Francis's funeral is set for April 26, and the papal conclave will be held in May

Yesterday, I read too much papal gossip about the departed Pope Francis. Some suggested that Francis was chosen to be a "bridge" pope and no one expected his papacy to last more than a few years. There was gossip that Francis, the first Jesuit pope, would just be filler in between hardliners/ultra-conservative popes. The cardinals probably didn't think that Francis would have a twelve-year papacy or that he would remake the image of a modern pope. It's interesting to note that Francis appointed a majority of the college of cardinals who will vote for the new pope in the conclave. . . .