When Pope Francis was hospitalised for weeks with double pneumonia, numerous asked who may lead the Vatican and the Catholic Church in the future.
On Monday, a day after he had actually welcomed the faithful at St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican revealed the 88-year-old Pope had actually passed away.
The pontiff’s health issues over the last few years and his age – including his current complex lung infection – caused concerns about his succession even before his death.
What takes place now?The Vatican will assemble a papal conclave, in which the College of Cardinals come together to choose the Church’s next head.
The guidelines of the conclave, since 22 January 2025, mentioned there are 138 electors of the 252 cardinals. Just those under the age of 80 might participate in the secret tally in the Sistine Chapel.
4 rounds of ballot would occur every day up until a prospect gets a significant two-thirds of the vote, in a procedure that usually lasts 15 to 20 days, per the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops site.
There are currently a variety of widely known cardinals whose names have actually been advanced to fill the function. In 2020, Edward Pentin launched a reliable book on the subject, entitled: The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
As the Vatican’s secretary of state considering that 2013, 70-year-old Parolin, from Veneto, is the highest-ranking cardinal in the choosing conclave.
Instead of sticking to “left” or “ideal” political leanings, Parolin has actually long been thought about a practical moderate figure within the church.
Most just recently, Parolin offered an interview with Italian paper L’Eco di Bergamo in which he talked about a variety of geopolitical problems.
He stated: “Everybody can add to peace, however options should never ever be pursued through unilateral impositions that run the risk of running over on the rights of whole individuals, otherwise, there will never ever be a simply and lasting peace.”
Cardinal Peter Erdö
As a previous president of the Council of Bishops Conferences of Europe, Cardinal Erdö is understood for being a devout Marian, suggesting he commits his practices to Mary, mom of Jesus.
The 72-year-old Hungarian has actually notoriously been a more conservative voice within the church, having actually opposed the practice of separated or remarried Catholics getting Holy Communion due to his belief in the insolubility of marital relationship.
He has actually likewise compared the act of taking in refugees to human trafficking. Erdö was made a cardinal in 2003 by Pope John Paul II.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle
As the seventh Filipino to end up being a cardinal, Tagle would be the very first Asian pope. The 67-year-old presently functions as the pro-prefect for the area of very first evangelisation of the dicastery for evangelisation, having actually been made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI.
He has actually usually revealed more left-leaning politics, comparable to Pope Francis, after he criticised the church’s mindset and language towards gay individuals, unwed moms, and separated or remarried Catholics.
He stated in 2015: “The severe words that were utilized in the past to describe gays and separated and separated individuals, the unwed moms and so on, in the past they were rather extreme. Lots of people who came from those groups were branded which caused their seclusion from the broader society.”
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
Thought About to be a favourite of Pope Francis, Cardinal Zuppi has actually been president of the Episcopal Conference of Italy considering that Might 2022.
The 69-year-old was made a cardinal by Francis in 2019 and has actually considering that been sent out on a variety of worldwide journeys. He went on a peace objective to Ukraine where he fulfilled president Volodymyr Zelensky, however not Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and he went to the United States to fulfill then-president Joe Biden.
Prior to being a cardinal, Zuppi shared his more favorable views of the LGBTQ neighborhood, as he composed an essay in James Martin’s 2018 book, Structure a Bridge, Un ponte da costruire that it was “helpful for motivating discussion, along with mutual understanding and understanding” for a brand-new pastoral method with “our LGBT siblings and sis”.
Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke
Related to by critics as an outspoken traditionalist, Cardinal Burke, born in Wisconsin, was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.
He has actually openly encountered Pope Francis’s more liberal approaches, especially concerning his determination to permit separated and remarried couples to get the Eucharist. He has actually likewise called the church’s brand-new language around synthetic birth control, civil marital relationships and gay individuals “objectionable”.
He formerly stated that Catholic political leaders who support legalised abortion, such as Mr Biden, must not get the Eucharist.