BATON ROUGE — The Catholic Church will begin its sacred tradition of selecting the next pope Wednesday. 

LSU Religious Studies professor Michael Pasquier said Conclave translates to “under lock and key”. Pasquier said more than 100 cardinals from around the world will come together in private to begin the election process.

“It’s meant to ensure that they come together in a prayerful way and in a way that is meant to ensure that they are not being influenced by the outside world – at least while they're meeting together,” Pasquier said.

He said they will be inside of the Sistine Chapel each day and cast their ballots until a decision is made. 

“They have a ballot – two a day. One in the morning, one in the afternoon. The person who is chosen has to get two-thirds of the votes plus one and that person will become the next pope,” Pasquier said.

Pasquier said Pope Francis leaves behind a lasting legacy which could shape the election process, and one of those is his appointment of cardinals. He said the pope selected cardinals representing diverse regions in Africa, Asia, and South America.

"Many think that those that he chose as cardinals share some version of that outlook toward the world and the Catholic Church. It’s likely that they’re going to bring that kind of perspective to the conclave,” Pasquier said.

He said those perspectives could likely influence who will be selected as the next pope.

Pasquier said although this process is rooted in tradition, it is nearly impossible to predict the outcome. 

“Going into a conclave, very rarely do people know who’s going to come out," he said. "There’s many time many surprises, and it’s likely many people will be surprised when we find out who the next pope will be.”

Once a new pope is selected, white smoke will rise from the Vatican.