Who will be the next pope? Here are some possible contenders
Pope Francis' death on Monday, the day after Easter Sunday, started off a series of traditions that in a few weeks will culminate in a vote for the next pope.
Francis' successor will be decided by the Catholic Church's Cardinal Electors, a group of about 135 cardinals under the age of 80, who are expected to begin their conclave in early to mid-May to hold a secretive election for the next pontiff.
Over the last 600 years — since 1378 — cardinals have been chosen for the position, although eligibility technically extends to any male Roman Catholic who has been baptized.
Here is look at some of the cardinals considered possible contenders to become pope:
Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Budapest, Hungary
Cardinal Peter Erdo, a 72-year-old canon lawyer, is the highest ranking Catholic leader in a country that is 80% Christian. He is known for his support of the pope's outreach to Orthodox Christians.
Erdo is also on the conservative side of the European cultural divide. On migration, a key issue for Hungary, he has conveyed a balanced approach, recognizing the right to migrate but also the importance of ensuring political stability.
Erdo is considered a traditionalist but is also respected by liberals, which could make him a unifying force within 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 global attention for leading African bishops in unanimous rejection of "Fiducia Supplicans," a declaration the Vatican issued in 2023 that included guidelines on the blessings of people in same-sex relationships.
At 65 years old, he is known as a supporter of orthodoxy and defends priestly celibacy and the Church's moral teachings. He is also known as a promoter of social justice and a champion of the poor and voiceless, and is outspoken in his criticism of the Congolese government.
Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general for the Synod of Bishops
Cardinal Mario Grech, 68, is a canon lawyer who has major influence on how synods in the church are run. Supporters have praised him for leading the charge in implementing a more consultative and inclusive approach to church governance.
Grech comes from Malta, which is one of the smallest countries in the world.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 70, is second-in-command at the Vatican and a career diplomat who has consistently risen above any turbulence marking the pontificate.
He is regarded as a moderate who, if elected, could repair rifts inside the church. He is also considered a progressive with a global vision.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, 60, is a pastoral candidate who has spoken out amid the Israel-Hamas war and visited Gaza during the conflict.
He is a proponent of social justice and sees himself as a servant of the people. He is similar to Francis in his concern for migrants, interfaith dialogue and his disdain for clericalism.
Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines
Cardinal Luis Tagle, 67, and pro-prefect for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, is known as the "Asian Francis" for his missionary spirit as well as his emphasis on caring for the poor and welcoming of LGBTQ and divorced and remarried Catholics.
He is the former archbishop of Manila, in the Philippines, which is one of the most Catholic countries on the continent of Asia, and studied in the U.S. for seven years. His election would signal a continuation of Francis' pontificate.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna, Italy
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, 69, is the president of the Italian bishops conference. He is known as a "street priest" and missionary and wants a church that listens to the faithful and is willing to modernize. Zuppi is inclusive of same-sex couples, as well as people of different religions.
Francis chose Zuppi as his envoy to Russia and Ukraine, as well as to the West Bank and Beijing, to promote peace.
Cardinal Anders Arborelius, archbishop of Stockholm
Cardinal Anders Arborelius, 75, was raised Lutheran and converted to Catholicism at the age of 20. He is the first ever cardinal from Scandinavia.
He is also a traditionalist on the church's teaching on sexual ethics and gender, and has a strong concern for the environment.
Arborelius has been a proponent of immigration into Sweden, calling for dialogue and integration instead of restrictions.
Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix of Quebec
Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, Metropolitan Archbishop of Quebec, Canada, is 67 years old. Earlier in his career he spent years as a missionary and seminary professor in Colombia.
He temporarily stepped back from his duties amid sexual abuse allegations, which he denied, and returned to his duties last year after a church-led investigation found no evidence of misconduct.
Inside the monarch butterfly migration mystery: flying to Mexico from Canada, the U.S.
Scientists warn what future bird flu mutations could mean for people | 60 Minutes
What's next for AI at DeepMind, Google's artificial intelligence lab | 60 Minutes
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hill
42 minutes ago
- The Hill
More Americans see increased influence from religion in US: Gallup
More Americans said they see an increased influence from religion in the U.S., according to a new Gallup poll. The Wednesday poll found that 34 percent of respondents said they believe 'religion as a whole is increasing its influence on American life,' up 14 points from May 2024. In December, 35 percent said the same about religion, one point higher than the recent Gallup poll. Back in April, President Trump pledged that 'religion is coming back to America' after kicking off his first White House Easter Egg Roll since coming back to office 'We're bringing religion back in America. We're bringing a lot of things back, but religion is coming back to America. That's why you see the kind of numbers that you see, the spirit and the kind of numbers that you see,' the president said in April. In Wednesday's Gallup poll, 59 percent of respondents said they believe religion's influence is dropping, down 2 points from December. Two percent also said religion's influence is the 'same' while 5 percent had 'no opinion.' In February, a Pew Research Center survey found that a decline in the number of Americans who identify as Christian appeared to be slowing down following years of losses. The Gallup poll took place from May 1 to 18, featuring 1,003 people and plus or minus 4 percentage points as a margin of sampling error.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Southern Baptists move to end same-sex marriage in the US
Southern Baptists, whose faith includes over 12 million members in the US, have endorsed a ban to end same-sex marriage in America. The moment marks the first time the group has officially opposed the ruling in Obergefell v Hodges, the 2015 landmark Supreme Court case backing same-sex marriage. The votes on Tuesday came during the annual Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas, Texas, attended by over 10,000 church representatives. Experts say the evangelical group's values have increasingly shifted to align with the Christian right, a branch of conservatism that has gained momentum under US President Donald Trump. The Southern Baptists' resolution does not use the word "ban" directly. Instead, it calls for the "overturning of laws and court rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, that defy God's design for marriage and family". The resolution also calls "for laws that affirm marriage between one man and one woman". Any legal reversal of the Supreme Court's Obergefell decision would not lead automatically to a nationwide ban of same-sex marriage. Thirty-six states had already legalised same-sex marriage at the time of the ruling, and nearly 70% of Americans still support it, polls show. "What we're trying to do is keep the conversation alive," Andrew Walker, an ethicist at a Southern Baptist seminary in Kentucky who wrote the resolution, told the New York Times. Although the resolution is non-binding, it comes from a large, influential faction of President Trump's base and sends a direct message to the White House. Eighty-five percent of white evangelical Protestants are likely to be Republican voters, according to a 2024 Pew Research survey. "I think there is a confidence that (Trump) will have their backs," Kristin Du Mez, a Calvin University history professor specializing in religion and politics, told the BBC. "In some ways, it's an uphill battle," she said. "But I do think they sense that there's been this shift, that there may be a window opening, and that they think this is the right time to press this issue." She described a "transactional element" to the relationship between evangelicals and Trump, whose Supreme Court nominations helped end national abortion rights. Evangelicals also played a "very prominent" role overturning Roe v Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that protected abortion for nearly 50 years before it was overturned in 2022, said Ms Du Mez. She said she believes evangelicals may be using the same blueprint to end same-sex marriage. "I know some of the leaders have pointed to Roe v Wade as a model of the need to play the long game," she said. Trump's message on same-sex marriage has been mixed over the years, telling CNN in 2015 that he supported "traditional marriage" then, in a 60 Minutes interview in 2016, saying he was "fine" with same-sex marriage. In his second term, however, he has launched a campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) with multiple directives targeting LGBTQ groups. This includes banning transgender people from serving the military, and revoking a Biden-era executive order preventing discrimination "on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation". Fear and anxiety in LGBTQ communities have grown as a result, leading some international organisations to boycott World Pride in Washington DC this year. And although public support largely remains behind same-sex marriage, the Southern Baptists' resolution has added to LGBTQ groups' sense of alarm. "This is a very visible example of how attacks on the LGBTQ+ community as a whole have intensified, even as politicians take aim at transgender people as a tactic to divide us," Laurel Powell, Human Rights Campaign communications director, said in a statement to the BBC. "We will never stop fighting to love who we love and be who we are."
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pope Leo XIV names new bishop for Archdiocese of Fuzhou, China
June 11 (UPI) -- Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday appointed Bishop Joseph Lin Yuntuan auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Fuzhou, China. "We are pleased to learn that today, on the occasion of the taking possession of the Office of Auxiliary Bishop of Fuzhou by His Excellency Monsignor Joseph Lin Yuntuan, his Episcopal Ministry is also recognized for the purposes of civil law," the Holy See said in a statement. "This event constitutes a further fruit of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese Authorities and is an important step in the journey of communion of the Diocese." The Vatican said that both "the recognition of the civil effects" and taking possession the office occurred Wednesday "in the framework of the dialogue regarding the application of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China." Yuntuan's appointment was made possible by the Sino-Vatican deal signed in September 2024 and renewed for a third time in October 2024. A May 12 Human Rights Watch statement urged the Vatican to review the agreement that allows China to appoint bishops for government-approved houses of worship, subject to Pope Leo's approval. "Pope Leo XIV has an opportunity to make a fresh start with China to protect the religious freedom of China's Catholics," HRW associate China director Maya Wang said in a statement. "The new pope should press for negotiations that could help improve the right to religious practice for everyone in China." Details of the Sino-Vatican deal have never been made public. According to HRW, the agreement with the Vatican was signed during a period of intensified religious repression in China. HRW has urged Leo to press the Chinese government to immediately free several Catholic clergy who have been "imprisoned, forcibly disappeared, or subjected to house arrest and other harassment." Msgr. Joseph Lun Yuntuan is a China-born cleric ordained as a priest April 9, 1984. He was an episcopal delegate for several years and from 2013-2016 he "performed the ministry of Apostolic Administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis." Yuntuan received episcopal ordination Dec. 28, 2017. The metropolitan Archdiocese of Fuzhou was established in 1946. Leo has appointed 15 new bishops in Asia, the United States, Africa, Europe and South America.