Pope Francis has died at 88, and speculation is already swirling around who will become the next pontiff to lead the Catholic Church.
Francis died in the early hours of April 21, the day after Easter. He had been hospitalized in Rome on Friday, when he was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs. Francis was elected pope in March 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI made the unexpected decision to step down from the chair of Saint Peter, becoming the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years.
Francis’ papacy often adopted a progressive tone, with the pope recently making headlines for criticizing Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, and the Trump administration’s “program of mass deportations.”
However, Francis also upheld Catholic doctrine on abortion, gay marriage, and gender ideology, although critics have complained that his wording in statements on these issues is sometimes confusing. Last year, Francis was firm with an interviewer that women would not be ordained priests.
Several cardinals are considered potential successors to Francis — here are just a few.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, 76, is one of the few potential successors from the United States.
From Wisconsin, Burke has been outspoken in his criticism of the Church’s more liberal language under Francis, and he has strongly supported the Latin Mass, the older form of the Mass that is popular with many conservative Catholics. Burke has also said that Catholic politicians who support legal abortion, like former President Joe Biden, should not receive the Eucharist.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 70, has served as the Vatican’s Secretary of State for nearly all of Francis’ papacy. The Italian cardinal has been in the Holy See’s diplomatic service since 1986, when he was in his early 30s.
Considered a political moderate, Parolin has played a role in many political issues, including moderating 2014 talks between Cuban and American officials, asking the United States to find an “adequate humanitarian solution” for Guantanamo Bay prisoners, and urging countries to implement the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, 65, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has made headlines for his conservative stances. His papacy would be considered a referendum on Francis’ more progressive one.
However, Besungu also brought critics and supporters of Francis together when he led African bishops in rejecting Francis’ document explaining that people in same-sex relationships can be blessed, but did so with Francis’ explicit blessing, which he got during an emergency trip to Rome.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, 67, has been called the “Asian Pope Francis” and would likely continue Francis’ more left-leaning stances.
He has defended the Church’s teachings on abortion and contraception, but he has also criticized the Church for using “harsh words” for LGBT people and divorced and remarried Catholics.
Cardinal Wim Eijk, 71, is also considered a conservative potential successor.
The former medical doctor from the Netherlands has been a sharp critic of Francis. He is one of the authors of a 2015 document opposing the pope’s approval of civil remarriages among people who have not received an annulment, calling them “a form of structured and institutionalized adultery.”
Eijk also criticized Francis for giving what he called a “completely incomprehensible” response to a German Bishops’ Conference proposal on allowing Protestants to receive the Eucharist.
Cardinal Peter Erdö, 72, is a Hungarian cardinal who is a devout Marian as well as a former president of the Council of Bishops Conferences of Europe.
He has expressed conservative views, including staunchly opposing allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion. In 2015 during the European migrant crisis, he said the Church would not take in refugees because it would be akin to human trafficking.
