Who Will Be Pope Francis’s Likely Successor?

Following the deterioration of Pope Francis’s health condition, speculation has emerged regarding his potential successor.

It has been about a week since Pope Francis was hospitalized due to a bilateral lung infection, and speculation about his potential successor has intensified. According to a report published by the New York Post, following the Pope’s resignation or death, a conclave of cardinals will be held in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, where cardinals under 80 years of age will determine the next leader of the Vatican through multiple rounds of voting.

The most important papal candidates are listed below:

1- Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, 65, from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is the president of the symposium of episcopal conferences of Africa and Madagascar, and Pope Francis appointed him to the rank of cardinal in 2019. Cardinal Besungu stated: “The teaching that allows priests to bless unmarried couples and same-sex couples is discredited on the African continent.” The election of Fridolin as Pope would represent a clear rejection of Pope Francis’s left-leaning principles.

2- Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, 67, from the Philippines. He is referred to as an Asian Pope Francis. Politically, he leans to the left and is among the critics of the Church’s treatment of sexual and gender minorities, divorced Catholics, and those who have remarried. Luis is the seventh Filipino appointed to the rank of cardinal in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI, and if elected as Pope, he would be the first Asian pope in history.

3- Cardinal Mario Grech, 67, from Malta. He is currently the secretary general of the Synod of Bishops and was appointed to the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis in 2020. Mario is considered a moderate potential successor. He has emphasized the necessity of maintaining relationships with people who have been excluded from the Church due to sexual orientations or marital status.

4- Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, 69, from Italy. He was born in Rome and is the president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference and has also served as archbishop of Bologna, which has made him one of the closest figures to the Vatican. Pope Francis appointed him to the rank of cardinal in 2019, and he is considered one of Pope Francis’s most trusted and favored cardinals. Matteo Zuppi traveled to Ukraine in 2023 on a peace mission and met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That same year, he was also sent to America to meet with Joe Biden, the former Catholic president of the United States.

5- Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 70, from Italy, Vatican’s foreign minister who has served the Vatican for 11 years. He was appointed to the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis in 2014. He has also served in Vatican embassies in Nigeria and Mexico. Pietro is known as a politically moderate figure, and if elected as the next Pope, he would be a continuation of Pope Francis’s legacy.

6- Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, 71, from the Netherlands. He was formerly a physician and is known as one of the most conservative candidates for the papacy. He was appointed to the rank of cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012. In 2015, he published a book in which he opposed Pope Francis’s support for civil remarriage of those unable to have their first marriage annulled, writing: “Such marriages are a form of organized and institutionalized adultery.”

7- Cardinal Peter Erdo, 72, from Hungary, former president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences. He has played a prominent role in contemporary Church policies. Peter was appointed to the rank of cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2003. He is considered a conservative figure and has openly opposed asylum acceptance by European countries, calling this measure human trafficking.

8- Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, 76, from the United States. He is known as the leader of the conservative faction of the Church and is a critic of Pope Francis’s liberal tendencies. He was appointed to the rank of cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. He was born in Wisconsin and was formerly the archbishop of Saint Louis.