Cardinals have begun voting for a new pope: Here's a look at 11 contenders

The papal conclave is underway, where 133 cardinal electors are tasked with choosing the new leader of the Catholic Church.

The successful candidate will need to secure two-thirds of the votes, with cardinals not able to emerge from the Vatican - which is sealed off from outside influences - until a new pope has been chosen. Predicting the next pontiff is extremely difficult.

Pope Francis himself was not supposed to be pope - and did not want to be, as he revealed after being elected. Follow latest: Doors of Sistine Chapel locked - conclave officially begins Vatican watchers currently forecast this conclave will be more unpredictable than ever.

The role could be handed back to an Italian, the first since John Paul I nearly 50 years ago. Or, for the first time in history, the next pontiff could be from Africa or Asia.

The question remains if the next pope will be more progressive on matters like LGBTQ+, women in the church and war, which is how Francis led, or more conservative, as was Francis's predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. Here are some of the main contenders who could be voted to replace Pope Francis.

Pietro Parolin, 70Nationality: Italian If the next pontiff is Italian, Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, is widely considered the frontrunner. The secretary of state is considered the pope's second in command, with the role often referred to as the "deputy pope".

Cardinal Parolin has been in the role since 2013 and has since become a well-known and powerful figure at the Vatican. In 2018 he brokered a landmark deal with Beijing which allowed both the government and church to jointly appoint bishops - a highly controversial move - and also played a part in the Holy See regaining relations with communist Vietnam.

A softly spoken man, Cardinal Parolin is thought to be more moderate in his beliefs. In the past he has defended the Vatican's power over local church leaders, saying they cannot make decisions that would end up affecting all Catholics.

He has also condemned the legalisation of same-sex marriage in many countries as "a defeat for humanity" and criticised efforts in Germany to bless same-sex unions. Read more on Pietro Parolin here Matteo Zuppi, 69Nationality: Italian Cardinal Zuppi, currently the archbishop of Bologna, is another likely candidate, and is seen as one of the most progressive in the upcoming conclave.

Born and bred in Rome, Cardinal Zuppi had a close relationship with Pope Francis, and is sometimes referred to as "Italian Bergoglio.