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A group of cardinals have been highlighted as notable successor to former Pope of Rome, Father Francis.
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Although there hasn’t been any official nominations, members of the church have shifted attention to some of the high ranking Cardinals in the church body.
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Among the lost include Africans, Italians and Europeans many others.
Many have been thrown into mourning, following the death of Pope Francis.
Daily Report Nigeria recalls the passing of Pope Francis in the morning of April 21, 2025, Easter Monday, who died peacefully at the age of 88.
Facts About Pope Francis
Pope Francis, with the real name, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936, and is the eldest of five children.
Before his conversion to Christ, he was a bouncer at a night club, and also worked as a janitor.
The Pope began his journey to the top after he experienced a respiratory illness, which required the surgical removal of part of his lungs.
He proceeded to join the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1969.
Read more interesting facts about the Pope here
Cardinals to succeed Pope Francis
Following the death of the Pope, the Vatican entered the state of sede vacante, which is Latin for “the seat being vacant”.
This subsequently leads to the ritual of the selection of the new pope, where eligible cardinals gathers inside the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to select a new pope.
10 Cardinals to succeed Pope Francis
1. Cardinal Peter Turkson
Turkson’s has been announced by many mainstream media, as the Ghanaian-born priest beats many others to be eligible.
Turkson was also ths prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development
2. Cardinal Angelo Scola
Scola, an Italian priest was also rumoured to be part of the 10 priest likely to succeed the Pope.
He served as Patriarch of Venice from 2002 to 2011 and has been a cardinal since 2003 and a bishop since 1991.
If selected, the 83-year-old priest will continue his service to the Christian body through the Vatican.
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3. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa
Pizzaballa, who is also an Italian priest, has served as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem since November 6, 2020.
He is also rumoured to continue service at the Vatican
4. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle
The 67-year-old Philippine priest is currently the President of Interdicasterial Commission for Consecrated Religious since December 8, 2019. He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2020.
5. Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Parolin is an Italian Priest, 70-years of age who is currently the Secretary of State, since 2013 till date, and also a member of the Council of Cardinals, since 2014 till date.
6. Cardinal Péter Erdő
Péter is a 72 year old Hungarian priest, and Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest.
He has also been the primate of Hungary since 2003.
He is well known for his motto: Initio non erat nisi gratia (In the beginning there was nothing but grace)
7. Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke
The 76-year-old European priest from USA has also been selected by the public.
He was the former Archbishop of St. Louis, and also the former Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (2008–2014)
8. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
69-year-old Italian priest is also said to take over from where the Pope left off.
Some of his services include being an Archbishop of Bologna since 2015 till date.
9. Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk
Cardinal Eijk from Netherlands is a 71-year-old priest who was ordained in 1st of June, 1985.
He attended the Universiteit Leiden (1987), Pontifical Lateran University, University of Amsterdam ·
He has been the Archbishop of Utrecht since 2007 till present.
10. Cardinal Mario Grech
The 68-year-old European priest happens to be the youngest in the list, with his capabilities greatly overshadowing his age.
He as born on February 20, 1957.
Grech is a priest in Malta, and is also the secretary General of the Synod of Bishops (since 2020), and Bishop emeritus of Gozo.
English (US)