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.
Prince Andrew attends a Requiem Mass, a Catholic funeral service, for the late Katharine, Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral in London on September 16, 2025. (Photo by AARON CHOWN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
PRINCE ANDREW on Friday (17) renounced his title of Duke of York under pressure from his brother King Charles, amid further revelations about his ties to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"I will... no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me," Andrew, 65, said in a bombshell announcement.
He said his decision came after discussions with the head of state, King Charles III.
"I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first," Andrew said in a statement sent out by Buckingham Palace.
He again denied all allegations of wrongdoing, but said "We have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family."
Andrew, who stepped back from public life in 2019 amid the Epstein scandal, will remain a prince, as he is the second son of the late queen Elizabeth II.
But he will no longer hold the title of Duke of York that she had conferred on him.
UK media reported that he would also give up membership of the prestigious Order of the Garter, the most senior knighthood in the British honours system, which dates to 1348.
Prince Andrew (L) and King Charles III. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will also no longer use the title of Duchess of York, though his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie remain princesses.
Andrew has become a source of deep embarrassment for his brother Charles, following a devastating 2019 television interview in which he defended his friendship with Epstein.
Epstein took his own life in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of trafficking underage girls for sex.
In the interview, Andrew vowed he had cut ties in 2010 with Epstein, who was disgraced after an American woman, Virginia Giuffre, accused him of using her as a sex slave.
But in an reported exchange that emerged in UK media this week, Andrew told the convicted sex offender in 2011 that they were "in this together" when a photo of the prince with his arm around Giuffre was published.
But he added the two would "play together soon".
Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen, took her own life at her farm in Western Australia on April 25.
"The monarchy simply had to put a stop to it," royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told the BBC. "He has dishonoured his titles, he's in disgrace."
Andrew was stripped of his military titles in 2022 and shuffled off into retirement after Giuffre accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.
New allegations emerged this week in Giuffre's posthumous memoir in which she wrote that Andrew had behaved as if having sex with her was his "birthright".
In "Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice", to be published next week, Giuffre wrote she had sex with Andrew on three separate occasions, including when she was under 18.
Andrew has repeatedly denied Giuffre's accusations and avoided a trial in a civil lawsuit by paying a multimillion-dollar settlement.
FILE PHOTO: Jeffrey Epstein poses for a sex offender mugshot after being charged with procuring a minor for prostitution on July 25, 2013 in Florida. (Photo by Florida Department of Law Enforcement via Getty Images)
In extracts published by The Guardian newspaper this week, Giuffre described meeting the prince in London in March 2001 when she was 17.
Andrew was allegedly challenged to guess her age, which he did correctly, adding by way of explanation: "My daughters are just a little younger than you."
The once-popular royal was hailed a hero when he flew as a Royal Navy helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands War.
Internationally, he was best known for his 1986 wedding to Ferguson, boosting support for the centuries-old institution five years after his elder brother Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer.
Andrew has also become embroiled in a China spying scandal, and The Daily Telegraph revealed on Thursday (16) that he had met three times in 2018 and 2019 with a top Chinese official reportedly at the centre of the case.
The Epstein case also caught up with Ferguson, 65, last month, when an email from 2011 emerged in which she called Epstein a "supreme friend" and sought forgiveness for "letting him down".
She had vowed in the past to "never have anything to do with" Epstein again and called a £15,000 ($20,000) loan the billionaire had made to her "a gigantic error of judgement".
York City councillor Darryl Smalley said the city had lobbied hard for Andrew to drop the title.
"It's obviously a long time coming, but finally they recognised what a massive liability he is," he said.
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