What are the chances that Pope Francis will become a saint?
Pope Francis’s devoted faithful will likely soon be hollering for the late, humble, huddled-masses-loving pontiff to be fast-tracked to sainthood, experts said Tuesday.
But his fans should expect it to take at least five years — and possibly longer — to canonize the Argentine-born pontiff, if it even happens.
When Pope John Paul II died in 2005, his funeral was rocked by chants of “Santo Subito!” or “Saint Right Away!” — and it still took nine years, and Francis’s election, before the Polish-born pontiff, along with predecessor Pope John XXIII, were declared saints.
Francis, who died early Monday at age 88, was immensely popular with rank-and-file Catholics, who loved his common touch and compassion for children, prisoners, refugees and the elderly. The late pope’s openness to LGBTQ Catholics also spawned admiration in many circles as well.

