Pope Francis passed on April 21st after serving in the Vatican for 12 years. He was the first Latin American man to hold this position and one of the most adored people to hold it in history. Following up on his legacy will be hard, but here are some of the cardinals who may be selected to succeed Francis. One candidate is 72-year-old Cardinal Peter Erdo, he Hungarian. He is strongly backed by those who disliked Pope Francis’ policies. He has never openly had ill will towards Francis, but did oppose some of his decisions, one famous one was Francis’ decision to call the church to take in refugees in 2015.

His values lean more conservative, and he has been praised for being extremely proficient in church law. Another favorite candidate is Cardinal Peter Turkson; he is 76 and was born in Ghana, which would make him the first African pope. He was head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the body of the church that promotes justice, world peace, and human rights. Though he resigned from this position in 2021, he still promotes world peace and climate change awareness frequently. Possibly the most prevalent cardinal who may succeed Francis is Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. The 67-year- old Filipino man was said to be the Pope’s favorite to succeed him.

Tagle grew up in poverty and thus cares a lot about the impoverished and what the church should do for them, much like Francis did. Tagle is more popular with younger and more progressive members of the church as he cares about the marriage rights of queer people and divorcees within the church. Though these are some of the most prevalent cardinals currently, all 252 cardinals are eligible. The conclave (voting for the next pope by the 135 cardinals under 80 years old) will begin on May 7th, and the new Pope will most likely be known that same week.