Who would be the subsequent pope? Here is a listing of some doable candidates to succeed Pope Francis.

Pope Francis’ demise on April 21, the day after he made his final look on Easter Sunday, kicked off a sequence of traditions that culminated on Thursday with a number of the Catholic Church’s most senior prelates voting to elect a brand new pope. Francis’ successor was chosen by the cardinal electors, a gaggle of 133 cardinals below the age of 80 who entered the Sistine Chapel on Could 7 for the conclave, holding a sequence of secret ballots to decide on the subsequent pontiff in lower than two days.

“Each papal conclave comes down, in some sense, to a referendum on the papacy that has simply ended,” John Allen, a longtime observer of the Vatican and editor of the Catholic information web site Crux, stated. 

The world was nonetheless ready Thursday, after the long-lasting white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney, to be taught the identification of the brand new pope elected by the cardinals.

A number of of the possible front-runners would characterize continuity with the route set by Pope Francis, he stated, whereas others would sign “a change in a barely extra conventional, conservative route.”

Irrespective of their leanings, Allen stated, the cardinal electors will probably be on the lookout for somebody who can equal Pope Francis’ stature on the world stage. “They need, partially, somebody who can have the identical capability to make it completely unattainable for the broader world to disregard what the Catholic Church has to say.”

During the last 600 years — since 1378 — cardinals have been chosen for the place, though eligibility technically extends to any male Roman Catholic who has been baptized.

“That is the world’s oldest democratic train. It’s an election,” Allen instructed CBS Information. 

And whereas “Catholics consider that every one of this unfolds below the steering of the Holy Spirit,” Allen stated “the truth that this can be a supernatural course of does not make it any much less human, and due to this fact, does not it make it any much less political.”  

Here’s a take a look at a number of the cardinals thought of doable contenders to turn out to be pope:

Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Budapest, Hungary

Cardinal Peter Erdo, a 72-year-old canon lawyer, is the best rating Catholic chief in a rustic that’s 80% Christian. He’s recognized for his help of the pope’s outreach to Orthodox Christians.

Erdo can also be on the conservative facet of the European cultural divide. On migration, a key concern for Hungary, he has conveyed a balanced method, recognizing the precise emigrate but in addition the significance of making certain political stability. 

Erdo is taken into account a traditionalist however can also be revered by liberals, which might make him a unifying power throughout the church. 

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo 

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, grew world consideration for main African bishops in unanimous rejection of “Fiducia Supplicans,” a declaration the Vatican issued in 2023 that included pointers on the blessings of individuals in same-sex relationships.

At 65 years outdated, he is called a supporter of orthodoxy and defends priestly celibacy and the church’s ethical teachings. He’s also called a promoter of social justice and a champion of the poor and unvoiced, and is outspoken in his criticism of the Congolese authorities.

If elected he could be the primary African chosen to guide the Catholic Church in additional than 1,500 years. The final African pontiff was Pope Gelasius, who died in 496 after main the church for somewhat over three years.

Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary common for the Synod of Bishops

Cardinal Mario Grech, 68, is a canon lawyer who has main affect on how synods within the church are run. Supporters have praised him for main the cost in implementing a extra consultative and inclusive method to church governance. 

Grech comes from Malta, which is without doubt one of the smallest nations on the earth. 

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state 

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 70, is second-in-command on the Vatican and a profession diplomat who has persistently risen above any turbulence marking the hold forth.

John Allen, the Crux editor, sees him as a front-runner.

“The purpose of reference for this conclave is sort of actually Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the person who was Pope Francis’ Secretary of State — his right-hand man for 12 years.”    

He’s thought to be a reasonable who, if elected, might restore rifts contained in the church. He’s additionally thought of a progressive with a world imaginative and prescient.

However whereas Parolin has garnered a variety of hypothesis as a contender heading into the conclave, Allen cautioned towards any notion of a certain factor in papal politics.

“There is a well-known Italian saying, that he who enters a conclave as a pope, exits a cardinal — which means that for those who’re getting a variety of buzz, you are not going to be elected,” he stated.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem 

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, 60, is a pastoral candidate who has spoken out amid the Israel-Hamas battle and visited Gaza through the battle. 

He’s a proponent of social justice and sees himself as a servant of the individuals. He’s just like Francis in his concern for migrants, interfaith dialogue and his disdain for clericalism. 

Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines

Cardinal Luis Tagle, 67, pro-prefect for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, is called the “Asian Francis” for his missionary spirit in addition to his emphasis on caring for the poor and welcoming of LGBTQ and divorced and remarried Catholics.

He’s the previous archbishop of Manila, within the Philippines, which is without doubt one of the most Catholic nations on the continent of Asia, and studied within the U.S. for seven years. His election would sign a continuation of Francis’ hold forth. 

If elected he would turn out to be the primary Asian pontiff in trendy instances.

Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of the Philippines

One other Filipino, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, was additionally being spoken of forward of the conclave as a possible new pontiff.

David, usually often known as Cardinal Ambo, was one of many final cardinals appointed by Francis, gaining the rank solely about 5 months in the past. 

He attended the identical college, led by Jesuit monks, as his compatriot Tagle through the Nineteen Seventies. David gained notoriety for taking a agency and public stand towards the alleged human rights abuses of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. 

In his position as a bishop, David centered a lot of his work on serving to the poor and different social points. His fellow Asian bishops selected him to guide a fee devoted to creating the church “extra inclusive,” in his personal phrases.

Cardinal Robert Prevost of america

Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost is seen as having most of the qualities desired in a pope, and if elected, he would turn out to be the primary U.S. pope within the church’s historical past.

Prevost is the top of the church’s Dicastery for Bishops, which means he oversees the number of new bishops. It is a highly effective place, and for any cardinal electors who could also be turned off by his American nationality, it isn’t his just one. Prevost is a twin citizen of the U.S. and Peru, the place he served for a few years.

Total, he is thought of a centrist, however on many social points he is seen as progressive, embracing marginalized teams like Francis, who championed migrants and the poor. However Prevost opposes ordaining ladies as deacons, as an example, so he is seen as conservative on church doctrine.

His age is also an element — at 69 some might take into account him too younger to carry the church’s highest workplace.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna, Italy 

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, 69, is the president of the Italian bishops convention. He is called a “avenue priest” and missionary and needs a church that listens to the devoted and is keen to modernize. Zuppi is inclusive of same-sex {couples}, in addition to individuals of various religions.

Francis selected Zuppi as his envoy to Russia and Ukraine, in addition to to the West Financial institution and Beijing, to advertise peace.  

Cardinal Anders Arborelius, archbishop of Stockholm 

Cardinal Anders Arborelius, 75, was raised Lutheran and transformed to Catholicism on the age of 20. He’s the primary ever cardinal from Scandinavia. 

He’s additionally a traditionalist on the church’s educating on sexual ethics and gender, and has a robust concern for the setting. 

Arborelius has been a proponent of immigration into Sweden, calling for dialogue and integration as an alternative of restrictions.

Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix of Quebec

Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, Metropolitan Archbishop of Quebec, Canada, is 67 years outdated. Earlier in his profession he spent years as a missionary and seminary professor in Colombia. 

He quickly stepped again from his duties amid sexual abuse allegations, which he denied, and returned to his duties final 12 months after a church-led investigation discovered no proof of misconduct.

Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana

Conservative-leaning Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana would, like Ambongo, be the Catholic Church’s first modern African pope if chosen.

However the Ghanaian, who was the primary man from his nation to be made a cardinal, is taken into account a much less hard-line conservative than his Congolese counterpart. 

The 76-year-old has opposed the criminalization of gay relationships in Africa, together with in his dwelling nation.

In 2012, he was criticized for fear-mongering about Islam in Europe throughout a Vatican convention, and he later apologized.

The next 12 months, he instructed BBC Information he did not need the Catholic Church’s high job, saying, “I am unsure whether or not anybody does aspire to turn out to be a pope.”

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of France

At 66, French Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, the Archbishop of Marseille, is on the youthful facet in comparison with lots of his fellow prelates. If chosen as the subsequent pope, he could be the primary Frenchman to carry the place since Gregory XI died in 1378. 

Aveline, who was born in Algeria below French colonial rule however grew up in Marseille, is taken into account a progressive on points corresponding to immigration, as was Pope Francis.

He has spoken out about drug trafficking networks based mostly in Marseille, and helped to determine an establishment that encourages interfaith dialogue between Catholics, Muslims and Jews.

Aveline was thought of a favourite of Pope Francis, however some consider his possibilities as a papal candidate could possibly be harmed by the truth that he does not communicate Italian.