Valley Roman Catholic parishioners say they want the next pope to be much younger than his predecessor and to take on corruption plaguing the church.

"I want to see a livelier person, a younger person we can have around a little longer," says Nelissa Rubio, a parishioner at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in south-central Fresno. "Maybe we can grow with him."

Pope Benedict XVI, 85, announced Feb. 11 that he was stepping down after eight years as pontiff, citing health reasons. It marked the first time in six centuries that a pontiff has resigned. His last day was Feb. 28.

There is a traditional 15-day waiting period after the papacy is vacant before cardinals can start a conclave to elect a new pope. Benedict, however, changed church law. It allowed cardinals, as a first step, to meet this past week to discuss church issues. On Friday, they announced that the conclave to elect a new pope will begin Tuesday.

Officials with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno will hold a Mass for the Election of the Pope at 12:10 p.m. Monday at St. John's Cathedral in downtown Fresno.

The Rev. Mike Lastiri, the diocese's director of worship and a parish priest at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Hanford, said the Mass would provide an opportunity for parishioners to pray for intervention of the Holy Spirit in the papal election process.

Marilou Abenoja, a parishioner at St. Paul Newman Center near Fresno State, says it is important that Catholics pray.

"I want the best cardinal that can give guidance to more than one billion Catholics," said Abenoja, who was holding her granddaughter, Ella Abenoja, 2. "They get wisdom from above, and that wisdom can emulate to how they give their messages."

At Sacred Heart, Rubio says she believes Benedict's papacy wasn't long enough for him to leave a telling mark with Catholics.

"He was around a short time -- and now it's changing again," she says. "I think a lot fell apart because he was there only a short time."

Danielle Briseno, who works with the Spanish youth group at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Fresno, says she wants a pope who has a heart for youth.

"The church community is getting older and not putting it as a priority to pass on the information to youth who are so ready now," she says. "The next pope is going to have a mission to accomplish in the church. How many years that is -- it will be the right number for him to do it."

Valley Catholics say they also want the next pope to address issues dogging the Catholic Church.

Ernie Avila, a parishioner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Clovis, says the next pope's first accomplishment should be "to overcome" the priests' sex-abuse scandal.

"I want the pope to bring the Catholic religion back to what it once was -- and overcome all this doubt in it," he said.

Inez Lomeli, a parishioner at St. Paul Newman Center, says the next pope needs to address the crisis of governance, which cardinals were outspoken about during Benedict's papacy.

"That's a big responsibility," says Lomeli, a Fresno State student who is studying preoccupational therapy. "As pope, you should address the issues of the church and what the people need.

"But I don't think we're in position to judge anyone because it's a big responsibility."

Other parishioners had mixed views about the next pope being liberal or conservative.

Norelli Fernandez, a parishioner at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in northeast Fresno, says she wants a pope who will be more flexible with the "trends of today," including gay issues.

"Hopefully, the Catholic Church will use him to touch the lives of the younger generation," said Fernandez, a nurse. "Right now, not too many are wanting to become priests."

Shirley Mitchell, a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, says she hopes the next pope is committed to the church's steep traditions. She hopes Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York is elected.

"He's very conservative," she says. "He believes in protecting the unborn, marriage between a man and a woman, and religious liberty."

For some, all that matters is that the next pope works as an instrument of God.

"I want him to be a person who dedicates himself spiritually to God," says Adrian Bautista, a parishioner at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in southwest Fresno. "You always win when you have the love of Jesus."

Maricela Martinez, a parishioner at St. Anthony of Padua, says, "It's whoever God wants us to have. We're all willing to follow whoever he says."