While Pope Francis remains hospitalised with double pneumonia, many are asking who might lead the Vatican and Catholic Church in the future.
The 88-year-old pontiff showed the onset of “bilateral pneumonia” – meaning it is present in both his lungs – as his condition “continues to present a complex picture”, the Vatican said after he was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital last week.
The Pope’s illness has seen events over the weekend cancelled and has cast uncertainty over the Holy Year too. His health concerns in recent years and his age have caused questions to be asked about his succession.
There are already a number of well-known cardinals whose names have been put forward to fill the role. In 2020, Edward Pentin released an authoritative book on the topic, titled: The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates.
Following the death of a pope, or in rare cases of resignation such as with Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican convenes a papal conclave, in which the College of Cardinals come together to elect the Church’s next head.
The rules of the conclave, as of 22 January 2025, stated there are 138 electors of the 252 cardinals. Only those under the age of 80 may take part in the secret ballot in the Sistine Chapel.
Four rounds of voting would take place every day until a candidate receives a major two-thirds of the vote, in a process that typically lasts 15 to 20 days, per the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
As the Vatican’s secretary of state since 2013, 70-year-old Parolin, from Veneto, is the highest-ranking cardinal in the electing conclave.
Rather than adhering to “left” or “right” political leanings, Parolin has long been considered a sensible moderate figure within the church.
Most recently, Parolin gave an interview with Italian newspaper L’Eco di Bergamo in which he commented on a number of geopolitical issues.
He said: “Everyone can contribute to peace, but solutions must never be pursued through unilateral impositions that risk trampling on the rights of entire peoples, otherwise, there will never be a just and lasting peace.”
Cardinal Peter Erdö
As a former president of the Council of Bishops Conferences of Europe, Cardinal Erdö is known for being a devout Marian, meaning he devotes his practices to Mary, mother of Jesus.
