Race to Succeed Pope Francis Begins
Following the death of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church has entered a mourning period, and preparations are underway for the election of a new pope. The funeral will take place in Rome on Saturday, with 135 cardinals under the age of 80 eligible to vote in the upcoming papal conclave.
While the outcome of the conclave is difficult to predict, 15 cardinals are currently seen as prominent contenders, representing various regions of the world:
Europe:
• Pietro Parolin (70, Italy): Italian diplomat and former Vatican foreign minister, closely aligned with Pope Francis. Parolin played a key role in the 2018 agreement between the Vatican and China on bishop appointments.
• Pierbattista Pizzaballa (60, Italy): A Middle East expert fluent in Hebrew and English. Patriarch of Jerusalem, known for advocating peace following October 2023 Israeli assault on Gaza.
• Matteo Maria Zuppi (69, Italy): Italian bishop with decades of peace mediation experience. He is also known for welcoming migrants and LGBTQ Catholics.
• Claudio Gugerotti (69, Italy): Expert in Eastern churches and former Vatican envoy.
• Jean-Marc Aveline (66, France): French-Algerian cardinal close to Pope Francis and shares his priorities of interfaith dialogue and support for migrants.
• Anders Arborelius (75, Sweden): Sweden’s first cardinal, strongly conservative.
• Mario Grech (68, Malta): Promotes a more open Church while acknowledging conservative views.
• Péter Erdő (72, Hungary): Hungarian scholar, has authored over 25 books, and is known for both ecumenism and conservative stances on issues like same-sex marriage.
• Jean-Claude Hollerich (67, Luxembourg): Luxembourg archbishop with deep experience in Asia. A close advisor to Pope Francis and member of his Council of Cardinals.
Asia:
• Luis Antonio Tagle (67, Philippines): Filipino cardinal and top Asian contender, known for his charisma and reformist stance, widely viewed as Asia’s strongest contender.
• Charles Maung Bo (76, Myanmar): The first cardinal from Myanmar, appointed by Pope Francis in 2015. Bo defended the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority and denounced human trafficking affecting Burmese youth.
Africa:
• Peter Turkson (76, Ghana): Ghanaian cardinal often mentioned as a possible first Black pope.
• Fridolin Ambongo Besungu (65, DR Congo): Archbishop of Kinshasa and the only African on Pope Francis’s Council of Cardinals, sees Africa as key to the Church’s future.
Americas:
• Robert Francis Prevost (69, USA/Peru): US-born bishop in Peru, heads the Vatican body for appointing bishops.
• Timothy Dolan (75, USA): Conservative Archbishop of New York, strong opponent of abortion.
The conclave is expected to reflect deep geographical and ideological diversity within the Church, as the cardinals prepare to choose the next spiritual leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics.
