Who could be the next pope? A look at some top names

A few cardinals have emerged as candidates to become the next pope following the death of Pope Francis on Monday. 

These contenders have what are considered key qualities to be pope.

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Who are some of the candidates to be the next pope?

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The Associated Press reported that any baptized Catholic man is eligible, although only cardinals have been selected since 1378. The winner to become pope must get two-thirds of the vote from those cardinals under age 80 and thus eligible to participate.

Cardinal Peter Erdo

Cardinal Peter Erdo is the archbishop of Budapest and primate of Hungary, and the 72-year-old was twice elected head of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences, in 2005 and 2011.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx

Cardinal Reinhard Marx is the archbishop of Munich and Freising and was chosen by Pope Francis as a key adviser in 2013, the Associated Press reported. 

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The 71-year-old was named to head the council overseeing Vatican finances during reforms The former president of the German bishops’ conference was a strong advocate of the "synodal path" process of dialogue in the German church that started in 2020 as a response to the clergy sexual abuse scandal there. 

Cardinal Marc Ouellet

Marc Ouellet, of Canada, led the Vatican’s influential bishops office for over 10 years, supervising the clearinghouse for possible candidates to head dioceses globally. According to the Associated Press, Pope Francis kept Ouellet, 80, in the job until 2023, even though Pope Benedict XVI appointed him.

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Cardinal Pietro Parolin

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 70, of Italy, has been Pope Francis’ secretary of state since 2014 and is one of the main candidates to become pope, given his prominence in the Catholic hierarchy, the Associated Press noted. The 70-year-old oversaw the Holy See’s deal with China over bishop nominations and was involved -- but not charged -- in the Vatican’s failed investment in a London real estate venture that led to a 2021 trial of another cardinal and several others.

Cardinal Robert Prevost

Cardinal Rober Prevost, 69, had extensive experience in Peru, first as a missionary and then an archbishop, and he is prefect of the Vatican’s powerful dicastery for bishops, in charge of vetting nominations for bishops around the world, according to the AP. 

Cardinal Robert Sarah

Cardinal Robert Sarah, 79, of Guinea, the retired head of the Vatican’s liturgy office, was considered the best hope for an African pope. The AP reported that Sarah would signal a return to the doctrinaire and liturgically minded papacies of John Paul II and Benedict.

Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn

Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, 80, the archbishop of Vienna, Austria, was a student of Benedict's. The Associated Press reported that Schoenborn became associated with one of Pope Francis’ most controversial moves by defending his outreach to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics as an "organic development of doctrine," not the rupture that some conservatives contended.

Cardinal Luis Tagle

Cardinal Luis Tagle, 67, of the Philippines, would appear to be Pope Francis’ pick for the first Asian pope. Francis brought the archbishop of Manila to Rome to head the Vatican’s missionary evangelization office, which serves the needs of the Catholic Church in much of Asia and Africa. 

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, 69, the archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian bishops conference, elected in 2022, is tied to the Sant’Egidio Community, a Rome-based Catholic charity that was influential under Pope Francis. According to the AP, Zuppi was part of Sant’Egidio’s team that helped negotiate the end of Mozambique’s civil war in the 1990s and was named Francis' peace envoy for Russia's war in Ukraine.