At Mary Immaculate School in Farmers Branch, students held a "mock conclave," complete with young cardinals and a new pope.

Among the roughly 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, many are keenly anticipating the upcoming Vatican conclave at which members of the College of Cardinals will elect a successor to Pope Francis.

Roman Catholic cardinals will begin the task on Wednesday of electing a new pope, locking themselves away from the world until they choose the man they

Francis’ successor will be selected by cardinals at the conclave that begins on May 7. Cardinals, known as the “princes of the church,” rank just below the pope in the Roman Catholic Church; together, they are known as the College of Cardinals. When a pope dies, the college chooses a successor.

Cardinals who will take part in the secret conclave to elect a new Catholic pope began checking into two Vatican hotels on Tuesday, where they will be barred from contact with the outside world as they decide who should succeed Pope Francis.