VATICAN CITY – After the death of Pope Francis at age 88, all eyes will be on the selection of the next leader of 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide.
In about two weeks, cardinals from around the world will convene for a conclave in the Sistine Chapel to vote on the pope’s successor. The 135 eligible cardinals will start holding twice-daily votes for the next pope. Pope Francis personally picked 108 of them, or 80%. Many names are being floated around as a possible successor.
Peter Erdo is a Hungarian cardinal who has served in the role for over 20 years. He has held many appointments, some of which were given by Pope Francis. One of his more notable views in 2015, he compared the church taking in predominantly Islamic refugees in Hungary to human trafficking.
Moving west to Germany, Reinhard Marx is another candidate with many appointments and titles that brought him close to the papacy. In 2021, during the sexual abuse crisis, he offered Pope Francis his resignation for his shortcomings. Francis denied him.
One that interests many Americans is American Cardinal Robert Prevost. He would be the first pope from the United States and the second one ever from the Americas, following Pope Francis.
“Very few Cardinals want another papacy that lasts 30 years,” said David Gibson, director of Fordham’s Center on Religion and Culture. “Do they want someone like Pope Francis who is going to continue to push on those issues? Or are they going to want somebody who goes back to a more traditional fortress style institutional Catholicism?”
There’s an old Vatican saying, “he who enters the conclave as pope, leaves as a cardinal.” It means fan favorites in the media and a cardinal with too much confidence may be met with caution in the conclave.
Only the cardinals know what direction they will pick and they isolate themselves during the voting to keep it secret and sacred. Salvatore Matano, the most reverend bishop of Rochester, said he’s praying for guidance as the cardinals select the next pope.
“We pray now for the College of Cardinals, representing the universality of the Church, that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit they elect a successor to Pope Francis to continue the Petrine mission of the Church entrusted to her by her founder Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of the Church,” he said in a statement. “As the Vicar of Christ on earth, this new pontiff will be called upon to confirm and strengthen his brothers and sisters in the faith.”
In the U.S., almost one in four adults identifies as Catholic. There are practicing Catholics around the world, including Europe, the Americas, Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.
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