The Next Pope: Lists Abound, Certainty Does Not

He never aspired to be a priest. After ascending to bishop, he implied that he suffered from impostor syndrome. And when Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle of the Philippines is asked if he could become the first Asian pope - a frequent question in recent years - he says that it is impossible. "Thinking of myself in that position, no, no, I laugh at that," Cardinal Tagle told the BBC in 2015. "I cannot even manage my life.How can I manage a world…

Meet the 'papabile': The likely contenders to become the next pope

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — A diverse cast of cardinals gathering at the Vatican for Pope Francis’ funeral will soon turn to voting for his successor as head of the Catholic Church. Only a few are considered likely candidates for the papacy, or “papabile” in Italian. Because of Francis’ elevation of prelates from the “peripheries,” many of the electors will have met only this week, while those who work in the Curia, the Vatican’s bureaucracy, know each…

Catholic Church Begins Delicate Process of Assessing Francis Legacy, Where Next Pope Will Take It | The Star News Network

by Eric J. Lyman in Rome   With the official funeral for Pope Francis having concluded, Catholic Church leaders now begin the process of addressing the Pope’s unfinished business and deciding who will be the next Pope to carry out that process. Over his 12-year papacy, Francis – who in some corners was referred to as “The Woke Pope” – was a transformative but polarizing figure. He worked tirelessly in service of sometimes divisive issues includi…

Catholic Church Begins Delicate Process of Assessing Francis Legacy, Where Next Pope Will Take It - The Virginia Star

by Eric J. Lyman in Rome   With the official funeral for Pope Francis having concluded, Catholic Church leaders now begin the process of addressing the Pope’s unfinished business and deciding who will be the next Pope to carry out that process. Over his 12-year papacy, Francis – who in some corners was referred to as “The Woke Pope” – was a transformative but polarizing figure. He worked tirelessly in service of sometimes divisive issues includi…

The Next Pope: Lists Abound, Certainty Does Not

Cardinal Vicente Bokalic Iglic of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, approaches the Petriano entrance to the Vatican next to St. Peter’s Square to attend the fifth general congregation meeting of cardinals April 28, 2025. (Photo: CNS/Pablo Esparza) by Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – After the funeral and burial of Pope Francis April 26, the attention of the world turned to who would be the next pope. The news media, blogs, pundits and people on t…

Who will be the next pope? Here are some top contenders for the papacy after Francis

(OSV News) — At the conclusion of the official days of mourning following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 135 cardinal electors are eligible to enter pre-conclave gatherings. There were very few gatherings of the college of cardinals during the pontificate of Pope Francis — which had become increasingly commonplace in the pontificates since the Second Vatican Council — and so there is a sense the cardinals know each other even less than i…