Get to know the main candidates to succeed the supreme pontiff

Published at: 21/04/2025 05:25 PM

Starting this Monday, April 21, due to the death of Pope Francis, a new conclave will begin for the election of the high representative of the Catholic Church, so some main candidates who could soon lead the Vatican are expected to participate.

It is important for a candidate to obtain, in the internal elections, a figure close to two-thirds of the cardinals' votes, in addition to being under 80 years of age. According to various sources, there are 138 cardinal electors, however, the limit allowed for this day is 120, many of them from 71 countries.

This time, Italy has the highest number of cardinals in this internal contest with a total of 17, followed by the United States with 10 and Brazil with seven.

One of the candidates, Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, is one of the favorites, has positive ties with African colleagues and has twice led the Council of European Episcopal Conferences.

Meanwhile, Reinhard Marx, of German origin, is a cardinal who was listed as a close advisor to Francis and responsible for managing finances in the Vatican.

Meanwhile, in Africa, the Guinean Robert Sarah is another one who participates in the conclave and is known for his defense of the traditional liturgical approach. Other main candidates to take the place of Pope Francis are Cardinals Marc Ouellet (Canada), Pietro Parolin (Italy), Luis Tagle (Philippines), Matteo Zuppi (Italy) and Archbishop Christoph Schoenborn (Vienna).

Mazo News Team