Who will be the next pope? The best candidates in an unpredictable competition

Who will be the next pope? The solution can have a deep influence on the Catholic Church and the world's 1.4 billion named Roman Catholics.

He also promises to be an extremely unpredictable and open process for many reasons.

The Cardinals College will meet in a conclave in the Sistine Chapel to discuss and then vote for their preferred candidates until it prevails a name.

With 80% of the cardinals appointed by Pope Francis himself, they not only choose a pope for the first time, but will offer a broad global perspective.

For the first time in history, less than half of those who are voted will be European.

And although the college may be dominated by his appointments, they were not extremely “progressive” or “traditionalists”.

For these reasons, it is difficult than ever to predict who will be selected for the next pope.

Can the Cardinals choose African or Asian pope, or can they prefer one of the old hands of the Vatican administration?

Here is a selection of names that are referred to as a potential heir to Francis and expect to appear more in the coming days.

Pietro Parolin

Nationality: Italian

Age: 70

The softly said Italian Cardinal Parolin was the Vatican Secretary of State at Pope Francis – making him the Pope's chief advisor. The Secretary of State also heads the Roman Curia, the central administration of the church.

By acting effectively as a deputy pope, he could be considered a championship.

It is seen by some as more likely to prioritize diplomacy and global perspective than the purity of the Catholic dogma. His critics believe the problem, while his supporters see strength.

But he was critical of the legalization of same -sex marriage around the world, calling for a remarkable voice for 2015 in favor of In the Republic of Ireland a “defeat for humanity”.

Bookmakers can support him, but Cardinal Parolin will be well acquainted with an old Italian who says he emphasizes the uncertainty of the Pope's choice: “He who enters a pope like Pope leaves him like a cardinal.”

About 213 of the previous 266 popes were Italian, and although there was no Italian pope for 40 years, the rotation of the upper echelons of the church far from Italy and Europe may mean that there may be no other.

Luis Antonio Gokim Tagl

Nationality: Philippine

Age: 67

Can the cardinal label become the first Asian pope? Unlike Parolin, he has decades of pastoral experience – which means he was an active church leader among people, unlike the Vatican diplomat or closed church law expert.

The church is massively influential in the Philippines, where about 80% of the population is Catholic. Currently, the country has a record five members of the Cardinals College – which could lead to a significant lobbying fraction if they all return cardinal labels.

It is considered moderate within the Catholic definition and is called the “Asian Francis” because of the commitment to social questions and sympathy for the migrants he shared with the late Pope.

He opposed the rights of abortion, calling them a “form of murder” – a position in accordance with the broader position of the church that life begins with conception. He also spoke against euthanasia.

But in 2015, when he was Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Tale called on the church to re -evaluate his “heavy” position for gays, divorce and single mothers, saying that the past had caused lasting harm and left people to feel “branded” and that every person deserves compassion and respect.

The Cardinal was considered a candidate for Pope until 2013 a conclave, which was elected Francis.

He asked a decade ago how he looked at suggestions that he might be next, he replied, “I'm treating him as a joke! It's funny.”

Fridolin Ambongo Besungu

Nationality: Congois

Age: 65

It is very possible for the next pope to be from Africa, where the Catholic Church continues to add millions of members. Cardinal Ambongo is a leading candidate, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He has been the Archbishop of Kinshasa for seven years and has been appointed Cardinal by Pope Francis.

He is a cultural conservative, opposite blessings for same -sex marriage, stating that “the unions of people of the same sex are considered contradictory to cultural norms and inherent evils.”

Although Christianity is the majority of religion in the DRC, Christians there are faced with death and persecution in the hands of the Jihadist group of Islamic State and related rebels. Cardinal Ammonge is regarded as a cruel defender of the church.

But in an interview in 2020, he spoke in favor of the religious multitude, saying: “Let Protestants be Protestants and Muslims be Muslims. We will work with them. But everyone has to maintain their own identity.”

Such comments could cause some cardinals to wonder if it completely covers their sense of mission – in which Catholics hope to spread the church's word around the world.

Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson

Nationality: Ghana

Age: 76

If elected by his peers, the influential Cardinal Turkson would also have the distinction to be the first African pope in 1500 years.

Like Cardinal Ambongo, he claims he doesn't want the job. “I'm not sure if anyone strives to become a pope,” he told the BBC in 2013.

Asked if Africa has a good case to provide the next pope based on the growth of the church on the continent, he said he believed that the pope should not be selected on the basis of statistics because “these types of considerations tend to blur the waters.”

He was the first Ghanaian to make a cardinal in 2003 with Pope John Paul II.

Like Cardinal Tale, Cardinal Turkson was considered a potential Pope a decade later when Francis was elected. In fact, bookmakers made it a favorite before the vote.

A guitarist who has once played in the funk band, Cardinal Turkson is known for his energy presence.

Like many cardinals from Africa, it bends conservative. However, he opposed the criminalization of gay relations in African countries, including his native Ghana.

In an interview with the BBC in 2023, while Ghana's parliament discussed a bill imposing severe LGBTQ+penalties, Turkson said he believes homosexuality should not be treated as a crime.

Back in 2012, he was accused of predicting a fear of spreading Islam in Europe at a Vatican Bishop Conference, for which he later apologized.