Who are the likely candidates to succeed Pope Francis?

Following the death of Pope Francis, a new pope will be chosen by the College of Cardinals – the most senior officials in the Church.

While in theory any Roman Catholic man can be elected pope, every pope since 1379 has been selected from the Church’s cardinals.

The cardinals will gather inside the Sistine Chapel to cast their votes in secrecy from the modern world, until one candidate has two-thirds of the votes.

A plume of white smoke from the chapel’s chimney will signal when a decision has been made.

Who are the potential candidates that could succeed Pope Francis? ITV News explains.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle

Luis Antonio Tagle was appointed to the College of Cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 – becoming the second youngest person and seventh Filipino to be made a cardinal.

He has held a senior position in one of the Vatican’s most important departments, the Dicastery for Evangelization, since 2022.

The 67-year-old is seen by some as representing the Church’s progressive wing, according to the Catholic Herald.

In 2015, he criticised the “harsh words” that were used to refer to LGBTQ+ people, unwed mothers, and divorced and separated people.

He said: “The harsh words that were used in the past to refer to gays and divorced and separated people, the unwed mothers etc., in the past they were quite severe.

“Many people who belonged to those groups were branded and that led to their isolation from the wider society. …But we are glad to see and hear shifts in that.”

He has also been involved in social issues in the Philippines, including defending the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion and placing emphasis on helping the poor.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin

Pietro Parolin currently serves at the Vatican’s Secretary of State and is a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisors.

The 70-year-old was born in Italy and was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2014.

The Secretary of State is one of the oldest and most important roles in the Vatican, with responsibility for overseeing political and diplomatic events of the Vatican City State and the Holy See.

Parolin was appointed by Pope Francis to engage in talks with a variety of world leaders and groups, including with Ukraine and the Taliban.

In a recent interview with Italian newspaper L’Eco di Bergamo, Parolin said the Church needs an “inclusive approach to peace” and that solutions to conflicts should not be unilaterally imposed.

Cardinal Peter Erdő

Peter Erdő became the youngest member of the College of Cardinals when he was elected by Pope John Paul II in 2003, at the age of 51.

The Hungarian cardinal, who is now 72 years old, is the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Primate of Hungary.

He is known for his Marian devotion – a way of showing honour to Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Erdő is seen as a conservative within the Church.

He opposes changes to marriage doctrine and has emphasised that country’s obligations to accept immigrants have a limit.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi

Matteo Zuppi was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2019.

He became president of the Episcopal Conference of Italy in 2022, giving him oversight of the country’s bishops.

Alongside this, the 69-year-old has been Archbishop of Bologna since 2015.

In 2023, Pope Francis appointed Zuppi as his special envoy to find a “path to peace” for the Ukraine war, according to Vatican News.

The cardinal went to Kyiv to meet Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, later that year, and also met former US President Joe Biden to deliver a letter from the pope.

At the end of 2024, Zuppi visited Moscow for three days to discuss “humanitarian collaboration”, the Holy See Press Office said.

Cardinal Peter Turkson

Peter Turkson was made a cardinal by John Paul II in 2003.

The Ghanaian church leader has held numerous senior positions in the Vatican.

He has led both the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development.

He has been hailed as one of Africa’s most prominent leaders, and Pope Francis sent the cardinal to Africa on several peacekeeping missions.

Most notably in 2016, he was sent as a special envoy to pursue peace in South Sudan and handed handwritten letters from Pope Francis to the leaders of the warring factions.

During the 2013 election, which Pope Francis won, Turkson was seen by several bookmakers as a potential favourite to win.