Who will be the next pope? Here is a list of a few possible candidates to succeed Pope Francis. Blogging Sole

The death of Pope Francis Monday, the Day after Easter Sundaystarted a Tradition series This in a few weeks will result in a vote for the next pope.

After Pope Francis East restHis successor will be decided by the cardinal voters of the Catholic church, a group of around 135 cardinals under the age of 80, who should start their conclave at the start in mid-May to organize a secret election for the next pontiff.

In the past 600 years – since 1378 – the cardinals have been chosen for the position, although eligibility is technically extended to any Male Roman Catholic who has been baptized.

Here are some of the cardinals considered as possible suitors to become a pope:

Cardinal Peter Erdo, Archbishop of Budapest, Hungary

Cardinal Peter Erdo, a 72 -year -old canon lawyer, is the highest rank Catholic leader in an 80% Christian country. He is known for his support for raising awareness of the Pope to Orthodox Christians.

Who will be the next pope? Here is a list of a few possible candidates to succeed Pope Francis.

 Blogging Sole
Pope Francis salutes the Archbishop of Budapest, Cardinal Peter Erdo, on April 28, 2023, when he arrived for a papal visit to Budapest, in Hungary.

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Erdo is also on the conservative side of the European cultural fracture. On migration, a key question for Hungary, he transmitted 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 the 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 in Africa and Madagascar, welcomed world attention to the main African bishops in the unanimous rejection of “fiducia supplicans”, a declaration that the Vatican published in 2023 which included guidelines on guidelines on directives on Blessing of people in homosexual relations.

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu after the ceremony for his appointment by Pope Francis on October 5, 2019 at the Vatican

Tiziana Fabi / AFP via Getty Images

At 65, he is known as a supporter of orthodoxy and defends priestly celibacy and the moral teachings of the Church. He is also known as a promoter of social justice and a champion of the poor and speechless, and is frank in his criticism of the Congolese government.

Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the bishops synod

Cardinal Mario Grech, 68, is a canon lawyer who has a major influence on the way in which church synods are directed. The supporters congratulated him for having directed the accusation in the implementation of a more advisory and inclusive approach to the governance of the Church.

Cardinal Mario Grech
Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, attended a sacred mass in the Saint-Pierre basilica on October 29, 2023.

Tiziana Fabi / AFP via Getty Images

Grech comes from Malta, which is one of the smallest countries in the world.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Vatican

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 70, is a second commander of the Vatican and career diplomat who has constantly exceeded any turbulence marking the pontificate.

Secretary of the Vatican of Cardinal Pietro Paroline State
The Secretary of State of Secretary of State Pietro Parolin presides over a massage of 20 years since the death of Pope St. John Paul II at the Saint-Pierre Basilica on April 2, 2025,

Simone Risoluti / Getty images

He is considered a moderate who, if elected, could repair the rifles inside the church. He is also considered a progressive with a world vision.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, 60, is a pastoral candidate who spoke in the middle of the War of Israel-Hamas and visited Gaza during the conflict.

Jordan-Christianity Church
The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on the right, gives a speech while the Secretary of State of the Vatican Cardinal Pietro Parolin examines the dedication of the baptism church in Al-Maghtas in Jordan on January 10, 2025.

Khalil Mazraawi / AFP via Getty Images

He is a supporter of social justice and considers himself a servant of the people. He is similar to François in his concern for migrants, interconfessional dialogue and his disdain for clerricalism.

Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines

Cardinal Luis Tagle, 67, and a professor for the congregation of the evangelization of peoples, is known as “Asian François” for his missionary spirit as well as his accent on the management of the poor and the reception of the LGBTQ and divorced and remarried Catholics.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle attends the solemn liturgy of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday in the Saint-Pierre basilica on April 18, 2025 in the city of the Vatican.

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He is the former Archbishop of Manila, in the Philippines, who is one of the most Catholic countries on the continent of Asia, and studied in the United States for seven years. His election would signal a continuation of the Pontificate of Francis.

Cardinal Matteo Zappi, Archbishop of Bologna, Italy

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, 69, is the president of the Italian conference of bishops. He is known as a “street priest” and missionary and wants a church that listens to the faithful and is willing to modernize. Zuppi includes same -sex couples, as well as people of different religions.

Cardinal Matteo Maria Zupp
Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi attends an opening mass for the Synod of Bishops, chaired by Pope Francis, on Saint-Pierre square on October 2, 2024.

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Francis chose Zuppi as his envoy to Russia and Ukraine, as well as in the West Bank and in 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 cardinal in Scandinavia.

He is also a traditionalist in church teaching on sexual ethics and gender, and has a great concern for the environment.

Cardinal Anders Arborelius
Cardinal Anders Arborelius leaves the altar after having received the Biretta from Pope Francis during a ceremony raising 5 new cardinals at the Saint-Pierre Basilica, June 28, 2017.

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Arborelius was an immigration supporter in Sweden, calling for a dialogue and integration instead of restrictions.

Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix du Québec

Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, Metropolitan Archbishop of Quebec, Canada, is 67 years old. Earlier in his career, he spent years as a missionary and professor at the Colombia seminar.

Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix
Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix during a ceremony for the creation of new cardinals at the Saint-Pierre basilica on February 22, 2014.

Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

He temporarily fell from his duties in the midst of allegations of sexual abuse, which he denied, and returned to his functions last year after an investigation led by the Church found no evidence of misconduct.

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