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2025 papal conclave

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Papal conclave
May 2025
Dates and location
May 2025
Sistine Chapel, Apostolic Palace,
Vatican City
Key officials
DeanGiovanni Battista Re
Sub-deanLeonardo Sandri
CamerlengoKevin Joseph Farrell
ProtopriestMichael Michai Kitbunchu
ProtodeaconDominique Mamberti
SecretaryIlson de Jesus Montanari
Election
CandidatesSee Papabili
← 2013

A papal conclave is expected to be convened in May 2025 to elect a new pope to succeed Pope Francis, who died on 21 April 2025.[1] The conclave is expected to begin sometime between 6 and 12 May 2025, which is between 15 and 20 days after Francis's death.[2][3]

Background

[edit]
Main article: Death and funeral of Pope Francis

There was speculation in February and March 2025 about a conclave after Francis developed double pneumonia.[4] On 21 April 2025, Francis died at the age of 88.[5] Media worldwide released papabili analyses the same day.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Although the conclave cardinals may technically elect any baptized Catholic male,[13] they have always elected a fellow elector cardinal since 1389.

Papal election process

[edit]
Main article: Papal conclave
2025 papal conclave
Eligible electors by region as of 21 April 2025
  Italy
 		17
  Rest of Europe
 		36
  North America
 		20
  South America
 		17
  Africa
 		18
  Asia
 		23
  Oceania
 		4
Total electors 135
Deceased pope Francis
(2013–2025)
New pope TBD

As in the 2013 papal conclave, both the dean and vice-dean of the College of Cardinals are over the age of 80 and not able to participate. Therefore, Pietro Parolin, the most senior cardinal bishop under the age of 80, is expected to preside over the conclave.

Timing and rules

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According to Pope John Paul II's 1996 apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis, as modified by Benedict XVI's motu proprio Normas nonnullas, electors generally have at least 15 days after the see becomes vacant to convene. The cardinals have the discretion to start the conclave earlier if all of their number have arrived, or later if there are serious reasons for a deferral, but no later than 20 days after the see becomes vacant.[14]

Cardinal electors

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Main article: Cardinal electors in the 2025 papal conclave

Cardinals aged 80 years or older before the day the papacy fell vacant are ineligible to participate. As of 21 April 2025, there are 252 cardinals, of whom 135 are under 80; 108 of the potential electors were appointed as cardinals by Francis[15] –eight out of ten.[16]

Since the 1975 promulgation of Romano Pontifici eligendo, and Universi Dominici gregis, there has been a maximum number of 120 cardinal electors. The 2025 conclave will be the first conclave since the introduction of the 120-limit where there were more than 120 eligible cardinals as of the day the papacy became vacant.[17][a]

However, any cardinal under the age of 80 who has not renounced his voting rights (or had them removed) has the right to vote in a conclave by canon law. Many canon lawyers are of the opinion that the pope makes an exception to his own rules when he appoints more electors than specified in Universi Dominici gregis, in which case all 135 cardinals under eighty are eligible to enter the conclave.[18][17] (Cardinal Vinko Puljić reportedly has announced that he will not be traveling to Rome for health reasons; his role will most likely fall to the cardinal priest elector by seniority, Peter Turkson, but this has not been officially confirmed.)[19]

Papabili

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Main article: Papabile

Observers of papal elections consider some cardinals to be more likely to become pope than others –these are the papabili, the plural for papabile, an Italian word which practically rendered into English means "pope-able". Given that the set of papabili is a matter of speculation by the media, the election of a non-papabile is not uncommon; recent cases are John XXIII in 1958, and John Paul I and John Paul II, both in 1978.[20] This is in line with a popular saying among Vaticanologists: "He who enters the conclave as pope, leaves it as a cardinal."[21] Pundits' papabili include:

Name Nationality Position at time of conclave Created cardinal Birth date Ref.
Gérald Lacroix Canada Canada Archbishop of Quebec, Primate of Canada 11 March 2011
(Francis) 		(1957-07-27) 27 July 1957 (age 67) [16][22][23]
Fridolin Ambongo Besungu Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo Archbishop of Kinshasa 5 October 2019
(Francis) 		(1960-01-24) 24 January 1960 (age 65) [24][25][26]
Anders Arborelius  Sweden Bishop of Stockholm 28 June 2017
(Francis) 		(1949-09-24) 24 September 1949 (age 75) [27][25][26]
Jean-Marc Aveline  France Archbishop of Marseille 27 August 2022

(Francis)

(1958-12-26) 26 December 1958 (age 66) [28][29][30][31][9][25][32]
Péter Erdő  Hungary Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest 21 October 2003
(John Paul II) 		(1952-06-25) 25 June 1952 (age 72) [33][34][20][26]
Mario Grech  Malta Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops 28 November 2020
(Francis) 		(1957-02-20) 20 February 1957 (age 68) [33][35]
Jean-Claude Hollerich  Luxembourg Archbishop of Luxembourg 5 October 2019
(Francis) 		(1958-08-09) 9 August 1958 (age 66) [27][36][37]
Charles Maung Bo  Myanmar Archbishop of Yangon 14 February 2015

(Francis)

(1948-10-29) 29 October 1948 (age 76) [25][37]
José Tolentino de Mendonça  Portugal Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education 5 October 2019

(Francis)

(1965-12-15) 15 December 1965 (age 59) [6][38]
Wim Eijk  Netherlands Archbishop of Utrecht 18 February 2012

(Benedict XVI)

(1953-06-22) 22 June 1953 (age 71) [39][40][32]
Pietro Parolin  Italy Cardinal Secretary of State 22 February 2014
(Francis) 		(1955-01-17) 17 January 1955 (age 70) [34][20][26]
Pierbattista Pizzaballa  Italy Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem 30 September 2023
(Francis) 		(1965-04-21) 21 April 1965 (age 60) [34][6][26]
Malcolm Ranjith  Sri Lanka Archbishop of Colombo 20 November 2010
(Benedict XVI) 		(1947-11-15) 15 November 1947 (age 77) [27][39]
Luis Antonio Tagle  Philippines Pro-Prefect for the Section of First Evangelization of the Dicastery for Evangelization 24 November 2012
(Benedict XVI) 		(1957-06-21) 21 June 1957 (age 67) [34][33][20][26]
Peter Turkson  Ghana Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences 21 October 2003
(John Paul II) 		(1948-10-11) 11 October 1948 (age 76) [34][41]
Matteo Zuppi  Italy Archbishop of Bologna 5 October 2019
(Francis) 		(1955-10-11) 11 October 1955 (age 69) [33][20][26]

Notes

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  1. ^ There have been more than 120 cardinal electors at several other points since 1975. However, this is the first time a conclave has occurred during such a period.

References

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  1. ^ Watkins, Devin (21 April 2025). "Pope Francis has died on Easter Monday at age of 88". Vatican News. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  2. ^ Burack, Emily (21 April 2025). "When Does the Papal Conclave Begin?". Town & Country. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  3. ^ "Here's How a Conclave Elects a New Pope". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Associated Press. 19 February 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  4. ^ Toth, Albert (3 March 2025). "What is a conclave? Process to select a Pope explained as Francis undergoes hospital treatment". The Independent. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  5. ^ Asaf, Seher; Davies, Maia (21 April 2025). "Vatican announces death of Pope Francis aged 88". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Sherwood, Harriet (21 April 2025). "Who will be the next pope? Some potential candidates to succeed Francis". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  7. ^ McGarry, Patsy. "Who will be the next pope after Francis and how does the process work?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  8. ^ "15 potential successors to Pope Francis". RFI. Agence France-Presse. 21 April 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Who could be the next pope? Some possible candidates". Reuters. 21 April 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Who could replace Pope Francis? Names in the running, including 1 from Chicago". NBC Chicago. Associated Press. 21 April 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  11. ^ Clemmer, Don (11 March 2025). "The 12 cardinals who might succeed Pope Francis". Claretians. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  12. ^ "These cardinals are possible contenders to be the next pope". PBS. Associated Press. 21 April 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  13. ^ Thavis, John (February 2013). "Election of new Pope follows detailed procedure". Catholic News Service. Archived from the original on 14 February 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  14. ^ "Universi Dominici Gregis". Vatican.va. Holy See. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  15. ^ Sherwood, Harriet (21 April 2025). "Conclave: the Vatican's secret process for choosing a new pope". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  16. ^ a b White, Christopher. "Who will be the next pope? Inside the race to succeed Francis". National Catholic Reporter.
  17. ^ a b Condon, Ed (10 March 2025). "Is there really a limit on the number of cardinals in a conclave?". The Pillar. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  18. ^ Allen, John L. (July 2004). Conclave: The Politics, Personalities, and Process of the Next Papal Election. New York, New York: Doubleday. p. 110. ISBN 0-385-50453-5. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  19. ^ "Puljić neće sudjelovati u izboru pape". bljesak.info. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  20. ^ a b c d e "Which cardinals are seen as contenders to be the next pope?". Associated Press News. 21 April 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  21. ^ Allen Jr., John L. (13 March 2013). "Papabile of the Day: The Men Who Could Be Pope". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  22. ^ Perreault, Mathieu (27 December 2023). "Le retour des papabili" – via www.lapresse.ca.
  23. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone International- (21 April 2025). "Qui sont les « papabili », ces cardinaux pressentis pour succéder au pape François?". Radio-Canada.
  24. ^ "On the 'Cobra Effect' and Congo's Ambongo as an emerging papal candidate". Crux. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  25. ^ a b c d Gupta, Gaya; Faiola, Anthony; Wu, Daniel; Bellack, Marisa (21 April 2025). "Who will be next pope after Francis? Key contenders ahead of conclave". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g Bubola, Emma; Povoledo, Elisabetta; Piangiani, Gaia; Macfarquhar, Neil (22 April 2025). "Wie volgt Franciscus op? Hier zijn een handvol topkandidaten" [Who succeeds Francis? Here are a handful of the top candidates.]. De Morgen (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 22 April 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  27. ^ a b c "The Next Conclave". Inside The Vatican. 1 July 2023.
  28. ^ "L'archevêque de Marseille, potentiel successeur du pape François : et si c'était lui ?". actu.fr. 22 April 2025.
  29. ^ "Si le prochain pape devait être français, Mgr Jean-Marc Aveline est tout désigné (sur le papier)". Le HuffPost. 22 April 2025.
  30. ^ https://www.reuters.com/world/who-might-succeed-pope-francis-some-possible-candidates-2025-04-21/
  31. ^ "Leading French cardinal calls for 'reawakening of hope' amid global turmoil". 26 March 2025.
  32. ^ a b Forrester, Megan. "Who are the top contenders to be the next pope? Experts weigh in". ABC News. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  33. ^ a b c d Condon, Ed. "Right, left, and center, why is no cardinal good enough to be papabile anymore?". Pillar Catholic.
  34. ^ a b c d e "Who are the favorites to succeed Pope Francis?". POLITICO. 21 April 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  35. ^ Borg, Neville (26 February 2025). "Mario Grech a 'top five' contender to be next pope, Vatican insiders say". Times of Malta. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  36. ^ Mankarious, Christopher Lamb, Alicia Johnson, Jhasua Razo, Sarah-Grace (22 April 2025). "Pope Francis successor: who's in contention to be the next pontiff?". CNN. Retrieved 22 April 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ a b "15 potential successors to Pope Francis". AFP/France 24. 21 April 2025.
  38. ^ Marx, Willem (22 April 2025). "After Pope Francis' death, debates begin over his successor". NPR. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  39. ^ a b "The College of Cardinals Report". College of Cardinals. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  40. ^ Milutinovic, Simon (21 April 2025). "The Cardinals said to have a chance at becoming the next Pope". National Post.
  41. ^ Daftari, Amir (21 April 2025). "African cardinals in spotlight after Pope Francis' death". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 21 April 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
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