15 potential successors to Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY: The death of Pope Francis triggered a period of mourning in the Catholic Church, but also kick-started the race for his successor.Whether diplomats, theologians, mediators or Vatican insiders, here are 15 cardinals who are among the potential favourites to become the next pope, known as the “papabili”, divided by region.This list however is by no means exhaustive and Francis´s successor could well be someone else.

Europe

Pietro Parolin (Italy), 70, Vatican Secretary of StateThe Vatican´s chief diplomat, Parolin has been the number two at the Vatican during nearly all of Francis´s papacy.

He is known to many world leaders, having travelled the globe, but also to many inside the Roman Curia, the government of the Holy See.Pierbattista Pizzaballa (Italy), 60, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

Pizzaballa is the top Catholic in the Middle East. He was made a cardinal in September 2023.

Matteo Maria Zuppi (Italy), 69, Archbishop of Bologna

Zuppi, a member of the Roman community of Sant´Egidio, has for more than three decades acted as a discreet diplomat for the Vatican including serving as Pope Francis´s special peace envoy for Ukraine.

Known for riding his bicycle around Bologna, Zuppi is a popular figure for his decades of work on behalf of the needy. He also advocates for welcoming migrants and gay Catholics into the Church.

Claudio Gugerotti (Italy), 69

A diplomat and polyglot from the Italian city of Verona, Gugerotti is an expert on the Slavic world.He served as nuncio -- or ambassador of the Holy See -- in several countries including Britain, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Ukraine.

Jean-Marc Aveline (France), Archbishop of Marseille, 66Born in Algeria, Aveline has spent most of his life in Marseille and is an emblematic figure of the southern French port city.

Considered a close friend of Pope Francis, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Marseille in 2013 and elevated to cardinal in 2022.

Anders Arborelius (Sweden), 75, Bishop of StockholmAppointed in 2017 as Sweden´s first cardinal, Arborelius is a convert to Catholicism in the overwhelmingly Protestant Scandinavian country, home to one of the world´s most secularised societies.

He is the first Swedish Catholic bishop since the Protestant Reformation and a staunch defender of Church doctrine, notably opposed to allowing women to be deacons or blessing same-sex couples.

Mario Grech (Malta), 68, Bishop emeritus of Gozo

Grech is the secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, a body that gathers information from local churches on crucial issues for the Church -- whether the place of women or remarried divorced people -- and passes it along to the pope.

He has had to perform a delicate balancing act, following Pope Francis´s lead on creating an open, attentive Church while acknowledging the concerns of conservatives.Peter Erdo, 72, Metropolitan Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest

An intellectual and respected expert in canon law, Erdo speaks seven languages, has published more than 25 books, and is recognised for his openness to other religions.

But his ties with the government of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- whose hardline anti-migrant views clash with those of Pope Francis -- have been under scrutiny in the past.

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 as well as German literature.

Firm on dogma, the theologian is still open to the need for the Church to adapt to societal changes, much like the Argentine pope he was close to and for whom he served as an adviser on the Council of Cardinals.

Asia

Luis Antonio Tagle (Philippines), 67, Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Manila

Tagle, Asia´s frontrunner for the papacy, is a charismatic moderate who has not been afraid to criticise the Church for its shortcomings, including over sexual abuse of minors.

Fluent in English, he is an eloquent speaker with self-deprecating humour and, like Francis, is a leading advocate for the poor, migrants and marginalised people.

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 country´s first and only cardinal.

Bo has called for dialogue and reconciliation in conflict-ridden Myanmar, and after the military coup of 2021 appealed to opposition protesters to remain non-violent.

Africa

Peter Turkson (Ghana), 76, Archbishop emeritus of Cape Coast

One of the Church´s most influential cardinals from Africa, Turkson is often mentioned as a possible first black pope -- although he said in a 2010 he didn´t want the job, insisting any such pope would “have a rough time”.

He serves as the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Fridolin Ambongo Besungu (Democratic Republic of Congo), 65, Archbishop of Kinshasa

Ambongo is the only 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 allowing priests to carry out non-liturgical blessings of same-sex unions.

Americas

Robert Francis Prevost (United States), 69, Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Chiclayo

A native of Chicago, Prevost is the prefect of the powerful Dicastery for Bishops, which is charged with advising the pope on appointments of new bishops.

He spent years as a missionary in Peru and is the Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Chiclayo in that South American country.

Timothy Dolan (United States), 75, Archbishop of New York

A jovial, ruddy-faced extrovert with Irish-American roots, Dolan is a theological conservative, fiercely opposed to abortion.The former archbishop of Milwaukee, he oversaw the fallout from a major sexual abuse scandal in the diocese.