Who could be the next pope? A look at 15 likely successors
Fifteen cardinals from around the world are being seen as possible candidates to take on the role of pope. Known as “papabili,” these figures include diplomats, theologians, and Vatican officials.
Birds flying above Saint Peter's Basilica following the death of Pope Francis, in Saint Peter's Square, the Vatican, on April 21, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)
The death of Pope Francis on April 21 has triggered a period of mourning across the Catholic Church, and also set off the process to choose his successor.
Fifteen cardinals from around the world are being seen as possible candidates to take on the role of pope. Known as “papabili,” these figures include diplomats, theologians, and Vatican officials. They are listed below by region.
This list is not exhaustive, and the next pope could be someone else.
EUROPE
Pietro Parolin (Italy), 70, Vatican Secretary of StateParolin, the Vatican's chief diplomat, has served as the number two in the Holy See for most of Pope Francis's tenure. He is known both internationally and within the Roman Curia. A member of the pope's Council of Cardinals, Parolin played a key role in the 2018 deal between the Holy See and China on bishop appointments.
Pierbattista Pizzaballa (Italy), 60, Latin Patriarch of JerusalemPizzaballa oversees an archdiocese covering Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, and Cyprus. He became a cardinal in September 2023, shortly before the Israel-Hamas conflict began. He has led calls for peace and celebrated Christmas Mass in Gaza and Jerusalem in 2024.
Matteo Maria Zuppi (Italy), 69, Archbishop of BolognaZuppi has acted as a Vatican diplomat for over 30 years, including as the pope’s peace envoy for Ukraine. He supports welcoming migrants and gay Catholics. He has been president of the Italian Episcopal Conference since 2022
Claudio Gugerotti (Italy), 69Gugerotti, an expert on Slavic regions, has served as papal nuncio in several countries, including the UK and Ukraine. He became Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches in 2022 and has advised Pope Francis on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Jean-Marc Aveline (France), 66, Archbishop of MarseilleBorn in Algeria and based in Marseille, Aveline became a cardinal in 2022. A close friend of Pope Francis, he has supported interreligious dialogue and migrant rights.
Anders Arborelius (Sweden), 75, Bishop of StockholmAppointed in 2017 as Sweden’s first cardinal, Arborelius is a convert to Catholicism. He opposes women deacons and blessings for same-sex couples. Like Pope Francis, he supports accepting migrants into Europe.
Mario Grech (Malta), 68, Bishop emeritus of GozoGrech is secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, which collects input from local churches on key issues and sends them to the pope. He has called for “fraternal dialogue” while reminding that the Church is hierarchical.
Peter Erdo (Hungary), 72, Metropolitan Archbishop of Esztergom-BudapestA canon law expert fluent in seven languages, Erdo is known for interreligious openness. His ties with Hungarian PM Viktor Orban have drawn scrutiny. He holds conservative views on issues like same-sex marriage.
Jean-Claude Hollerich (Luxembourg), 67, Archbishop of LuxembourgA Jesuit like Pope Francis, Hollerich lived in Japan for over 20 years and advises the pope as a member of the Council of Cardinals. He supports environmental action and lay participation in Church life.
ASI
Luis Antonio Tagle (Philippines), 67, Archbishop emeritus of ManilaTagle, often seen as Asia’s leading candidate, is known for his openness and criticism of Church shortcomings, including abuse cases. He was made a cardinal in 2012 and was also considered in the 2013 conclave.
Charles Maung Bo (Myanmar), 76, Archbishop of YangonMyanmar’s first cardinal, Bo was appointed by Pope Francis in 2015. He has spoken in favour of dialogue and reconciliation, especially after the 2021 coup. He has defended the Rohingya and raised concerns about human trafficking.
AFRICA
Peter Turkson (Ghana), 76, Archbishop emeritus of Cape CoastTurkson is a prominent African cardinal and currently Chancellor of two Vatican academies. He once said a black pope would "have a rough time". He speaks six languages and has addressed global forums like Davos.
Fridolin Ambongo Besungu (DR Congo), 65, Archbishop of KinshasaAmbongo is the only African member of Pope Francis’s Council of Cardinals. In 2024, he joined other African bishops in opposing the Vatican’s stance on same-sex blessings. In 2023, he said, “Africa is the future of the Church, it’s obvious.”
AMERICAS
Robert Francis Prevost (US), 69, Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of ChiclayoPrevost, originally from Chicago, is Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, advising on bishop appointments. He served in Peru for years and became a cardinal in 2023. He also heads the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Timothy Dolan (US), 75, Archbishop of New YorkDolan, a theological conservative, has opposed abortion and dealt with clergy abuse issues in Milwaukee. In New York, he has worked to connect with the Hispanic Catholic community.
HATE crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales have risen sharply, with religiously aggravated and racially motivated incidents registering a significant spike, according to the latest statistics released by the Home Office last Thursday (9).
Police forces logged 115,990 hate crimes in the year ending March 2025, a two per cent increase compared with the previous year. Race hate offences accounted for the majority at 71 per cent or 82,490 offences, followed by religious hate crimes at 7,164 offences.
Within these figures, anti-Muslim hate crimes reached a record high of 4,478 offences (45 per cent), followed by 2,873 (29 per cent) anti-Jewish crimes, 502 antiChristian hate offences (five per cent), 259 (three per cent) anti-Sikh and 182 (two per cent) anti-Hindu hate crimes.
“Hate crime statistics show that too many people are living in fear because of who they are, what they believe, or where they come from,” said home secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Professor Anand Menon
“Jewish and Muslim communities continue to experience unacceptable levels of often violent hate crime, and I will not tolerate British people being targeted simply because of their religion, race, or identity.”
Police patrols have been increased at synagogues and mosques around the UK following recent terror attack at a Manchester synagogue, Mahmood said.
Police forces in England and Wales are facing mounting pressure to strengthen hate crime enforcement and rebuild confidence among minority communities.
Community groups have urged the government to introduce mandatory anti-racism training within the police, alongside improved victim support and outreach in areas with growing South Asian populations.
Stephen Walcott, head of policy at the Runnymede Trust, told Eastern Eye the current wave of violence “cannot be divorced from a political agenda which sows hatred and divisions, and is promoted by the British media consistently”.
He said successive governments and mainstream parties have “flirted with racist politics for years – demonising migrants, asylum seekers and Muslims to distract from policies that have hollowed out communities and inflicted deep poverty.”
Walcott linked this to figures such as farright agitator Tommy Robinson and billionaire backers “including Elon Musk” who exploit racial tensions and “treat people of colour in the UK with complete contempt”.
Scenes of mourning in Southport after the murder of three young girls
The Home Office pointed to a “clear spike” in religious hate crimes targeted at Muslims in August last year, following the murder of schoolgirls at a Taylor Swiftthemed dance class in Southport and the subsequent misinformation around the UK-born attacker’s motivations and immigration status.
The number of religious hate crimes targeted at Jewish people fell by 18 per cent, from 2,093 to 1,715 offences, but the Home Office cautioned that these figures exclude data from the Metropolitan Police – which recorded a major chunk of all religious hate crimes targeted at Jewish people. This exclusion of Met Police statistics from the overall analysis is due to a change in the force’s crime recording system since February 2024, which restricts comparisons with data supplied in previous years.
Over the past two years, there have been at least eight major racially motivated attacks and violent incidents targeting south Asians. The surge, documented by police and academic researchers, shows a pattern of abuse, from verbal harassment to deadly assaults, with victims and campaigners warning that racism has become both more visible and more vicious.
A University of Leicester study, launched in parliament in 2024, revealed that 45 per cent of Asians in the UK experienced hate crime during 2023–2024, and 55 per cent of them suffered multiple incidents.
However, only one in 10 victims reported these crimes to the police, citing mistrust and a lack of confidence in authorities.
Most perpetrators were under 30 and often acted in groups, according to the study, with attacks ranging from public slurs and threats to serious assaults, sexual violence and murder.
Prominent incidents include the recent racially aggravated rape of a Sikh woman in Oldbury, the murder of 80-year-old Bhim Kohli in Leicester (2024), and coordinated riots in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Rotherham that targeted Asian communities and asylum seekers.
Large cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leicester continue to report spikes in racially motivated attacks, with many Asians saying they now alter their routines, avoiding public transport at night or refraining from speaking in their native languages in public, to avoid harassment.
Professor Anand Menon, director of UK in a Changing Europe at King’s College London, said there is “very little doubt that the political language around race and race relations has become much nastier in recent years”.
“It’s obviously connected to the rising salience of immigration as an issue, and to the increasing popularity of a populist party that is willing to stress the cultural as well as the economic impact of immigration. So, it shouldn’t be wholly surprising that we’re seeing a rise in hate crimes,” he told Eastern Eye. Menon noted that Britain lives in “very polarised times – not just in politics, but in the wider world too, from what’s happening in Gaza to what (US president) Donald Trump is doing.”
“At a minimum, we’ve got a right to expect the head of a notionally progressive, centre-left party to speak out much more firmly and much more quickly against racism than he’s been willing to do. His reaction was quite slow and quite delayed, and people notice that,” Menon said.
He suggested that economic insecurity lies at the root of rising hate crimes. “We’ve had 15 to 20 years of very poor economic performance. People have seen wages stagnate, inflation and prices go up, and a housing crisis develop, because we haven’t built enough homes.
“When people feel economically insecure, they’re more prone to turn their anger towards immigrants and blame them for everything that’s going wrong.”
Campaigners also noted the escalation in hate crime after the Covid-19 pandemic. Hate incidents against Asians trebled in 2020, and levels have remained persistently high since. The latest England and Wales figures show decreases in hate crimes based on sexual orientation, down two per cent to 18,702 from 19,127, and disability hate crimes, which decreased by eight per cent from 11,131 to 10,224.
There was also a fall in transgender hate crimes by 11 per cent from 4,258 to 3,809, the second consecutive annual fall.
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