The word conclave, meaning 'with a key', is topping Google's searches this week.

The Catholic tradition of the conclave, where when a pope resigns or dies, the College of Cardinals gather in a locked room to elect a successor, is set to begin tonight.

The conclave is a top secret meeting of all eligible cardinals under 80.

Once gathered in the Vatican City, they are locked inside the Sistine Chapel and participate in rounds of voting to elect the next pope, until a single name secures a two-thirds majority vote.

And after each round of voting, their ballots are burned, their smoke signaling either no decision (black smoke) or that a new pope has been elected (white smoke).

The front running candidates in this conclave are also adding to the anticipation.

At 70-years-old, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin is one of the favorites.

Under Pope Francis, he was the Vatican’s Secretary of State and Head of the Roman Curia, the Church’s central administration.

While an advocate for diplomacy and having a global outlook on faith, Parolin has also leaned more conservative, criticizing the legalization of same-sex marriages.

And could an American become the bishop of Rome for the first time?

Cardinal Robert Prevost, aged 69 years old and born in Chicago, is definitely qualified.

In charge of selecting the next generation of bishops as the prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops, he spent much of his life as a missionary in Peru before becoming an archbishop.

He's also considered a champion for reform, but at his age, some believe he is still too young to take on the papacy.

And the candidate who has received the biggest outpouring of support across social media is 67-year-old Cardinal Luis Tagle from the Philippines.

With decades of pastoral experience, Tagle has been called the “Asian Francis” for his similar outlooks on the church.

Most notably, he has called for the church to re-evaluate its position against the LGBTQ+ community and divorcees as this harshness has created lasting harm and discrimination.

For us here on Guam, the conclave officially begins tonight at 12:30 a.m.

Tune into KUAM TV-8 and TV-11 to follow along with the conclave and keep an eye out for those smoke signals.