The April 21 loss of life of Pope Francis triggered a interval of mourning within the Catholic Church, but additionally kick-started the race for his successor.
Whether or not diplomats, theologians, mediators or Vatican insiders, listed here are 15 cardinals who’re among the many potential favourites to change into the subsequent pope, often called the “papabili”, divided by area.
This listing nonetheless is certainly not exhaustive and Francis’s successor might effectively be another person.
EUROPE
Pietro Parolin (Italy), 70, Vatican Secretary of State
The Vatican’s chief diplomat, Parolin has been the quantity two on the Vatican throughout practically all of Francis’s papacy.
He’s recognized to many world leaders, having travelled the globe, but additionally to many contained in the Roman Curia, the federal government of the Holy See.
A member of Francis’s Council of Cardinals, an advisory physique, Parolin performed a key position within the historic 2018 deal between the Holy See and China on the appointment of bishops.
Pierbattista Pizzaballa (Italy), 60, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
Pizzaballa is the highest Catholic within the Center East with an archdiocese encompassing Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Cyprus.
He was made a cardinal in September 2023, shortly earlier than the battle broke out between Israel and Hamas.
The Franciscan has appealed for peace from each side, and at Christmas in 2024 led mass each in Gaza and in Jerusalem.
Matteo Maria Zuppi (Italy), 69, Archbishop of Bologna
Zuppi, a member of the Roman neighborhood of Sant’Egidio, has for greater than three a long time acted as a discreet diplomat for the Vatican together with serving as Pope Francis’s particular peace envoy for Ukraine.
Identified for using his bicycle round Bologna, Zuppi is a well-liked determine for his a long time of labor on behalf of the needy. He additionally advocates for welcoming migrants and homosexual Catholics into the Church.
He has been president of the Italian Episcopal Convention (CEI) since 2022.
Claudio Gugerotti (Italy), 69
A diplomat and polyglot from the Italian metropolis of Verona, Gugerotti is an professional on the Slavic world.
He served as nuncio – or ambassador of the Holy See – in a number of nations together with Britain, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Ukraine.
Consulted by Pope Francis on the battle between Ukraine and Russia, Gugerotti was named Prefect of the Dicastery for the Jap Church buildings in 2022.
Jean-Marc Aveline (France), Archbishop of Marseille, 66
Born in Algeria, Aveline has spent most of his life in Marseille and is an emblematic determine of the southern French port metropolis.
Thought-about an in depth pal of Pope Francis, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Marseille in 2013 and elevated to cardinal in 2022.
The smiling, affable Aveline has advocated for dialogue between religions and cultures, and the defence of migrants – each central tenets of Pope Francis’s papacy.
Anders Arborelius (Sweden), 75, Bishop of Stockholm
Appointed in 2017 as Sweden’s first cardinal, Arborelius is a convert to Catholicism within the overwhelmingly Protestant Scandinavian nation, dwelling to one of many world’s most secularised societies.
He’s the primary Swedish Catholic bishop because the Protestant Reformation and a staunch defender of Church doctrine, notably against permitting ladies to be deacons or blessing same-sex {couples}.
Like Pope Francis, Arborelius advocates welcoming migrants to Europe, together with Christians, Catholics and potential converts.
Mario Grech (Malta), 68, Bishop emeritus of Gozo
Grech is the secretary common of the Synod of Bishops, a physique that gathers info from native church buildings on essential points for the Church – whether or not the place of girls or remarried divorced folks – and passes it alongside to the pope.
He has needed to carry out a fragile balancing act, following Pope Francis’s lead on creating an open, attentive Church whereas acknowledging the issues of conservatives.
He has acknowledged the “fraternal dialogue” between Catholics of all ranges whereas assuring traditionalists that the Church is “not a democracy, the Church is hierarchical”.
Peter Erdo, 72, Metropolitan Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest
An mental and revered professional in canon regulation, Erdo speaks seven languages, has revealed greater than 25 books, and is recognised for his openness to different religions.
However his ties with the federal government of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban — whose hardline anti-migrant views conflict with these of Pope Francis — have been below scrutiny prior to now.
Identified for his enthusiasm for evangelism, the cardinal who grew up below Communism is a conservative on such points as homosexual marriage and divorcees who remarry.
Jean-Claude Hollerich, 67, Archbishop of Luxembourg
A Jesuit like Pope Francis, Hollerich spent over 20 years in Japan, and is a specialist in European-Asian cultural relations in addition to German literature.
Agency on dogma, the theologian remains to be open to the necessity for the Church to adapt to societal modifications, very like the Argentine pope he was near and for whom he served as an adviser on the Council of Cardinals.
Hollerich has advocated for the setting and has pushed for laypeople, particularly younger folks, to have extra involvement within the Church.
ASIA
Luis Antonio Tagle (Philippines), 67, Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Manila
Tagle, Asia’s frontrunner for the papacy, is a charismatic average who has not been afraid to criticise the Church for its shortcomings, together with over sexual abuse of minors.
Fluent in English, he’s an eloquent speaker with self-deprecating humour and, like Francis, is a number one advocate for the poor, migrants and marginalised folks.
Nicknamed “Chito”, he was made a cardinal by Benedict XVI in 2012 and had already been thought of a candidate for pope within the 2013 conclave by which Francis was elected.
Charles Maung Bo (Myanmar), 76, Archbishop of Yangon
President of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, Maung Bo was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015, his nation’s first and solely cardinal.
Bo has known as for dialogue and reconciliation in conflict-ridden Myanmar, and after the navy coup of 2021 appealed to opposition protesters to stay non-violent.
He has defended the persecuted primarily Muslim Rohingya, calling them victims of “ethnic cleaning”, and spoken out in opposition to human trafficking uprooting the lives of many younger Burmese.
AFRICA
Peter Turkson (Ghana), 76, Archbishop emeritus of Cape Coast
One of many Church’s most influential cardinals from Africa, Turkson is usually talked about as a doable first black pope – though he stated in a 2010 he didn’t need the job, insisting any such pope would “have a tough time”.
He serves because the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
Born right into a humble household of 10 youngsters, Turkson speaks six languages and has visited the World Financial Discussion board in Davos a number of occasions to persuade enterprise leaders of the perils of trickle-down economics.
Fridolin Ambongo Besungu (Democratic Republic of Congo), 65, Archbishop of Kinshasa
Ambongo is the one cardinal from Africa on Pope Francis’s Council of Cardinals, the advisory committee to the pontiff.
As president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, he signed a letter in January 2024 voicing opposition to the Vatican’s declaration permitting clergymen to hold out non-liturgical blessings of same-sex unions.
In a 2023 interview, Ambongo proclaimed that “Africa is the way forward for the Church, it’s apparent”.
AMERICAS
Robert Francis Prevost (United States), 69, Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Chiclayo
A local of Chicago, Prevost is the prefect of the highly effective Dicastery for Bishops, which is charged with advising the pope on appointments of recent bishops.
He spent years as a missionary in Peru and is the Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Chiclayo in that South American nation.
Made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023, he’s additionally the president of the Pontifical Fee for Latin America.
Timothy Dolan (United States), 75, Archbishop of New York
A jovial, ruddy-faced extrovert with Irish-American roots, Dolan is a theological conservative, fiercely against abortion.
The previous archbishop of Milwaukee, he oversaw the fallout from a serious sexual abuse scandal within the diocese.
In New York, amid shrinking Church membership, Dolan has reached out to embrace the rising Hispanic inhabitants, which is predominantly Catholic.
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By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
