Eyes across the Catholic world are turning towards Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. Many see him as a strong candidate to follow Pope Francis. Yet, a single factor—his age—casts a shadow on this possibility, sparking a debate about succession and the future of the Church.
With Pope Francis’s death at the age of 88, the global focus has shifted to who will take his place. Determining who will be selected as the next leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics is known to be quite challenging.
Fundamentally, any baptised Catholic man could be chosen as Pope. In reality, the next Pope will probably come from the group of cardinals who will meet in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel for the confidential papal election called the conclave.
Papal Succession: A Game of Global Intrigue
When Pope Benedict XVI resigned in 2013, hardly anyone in the Vatican thought Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina would become Pope Francis. With no clear front-runners this time, predicting the outcome is even tougher.
However, the Vatican corridors are buzzing with names of potential ‘papabile,’ individuals considered strong contenders for the papacy. Their different homelands showcase the extensive global influence of the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is among the names being circulated for consideration. His respected standing and significant Vatican responsibilities have made him a prominent figure in these discussions despite the age-related considerations surrounding his candidacy.
Cardinal Tagle: The Humble Reformer
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, a name commonly heard among liberal Catholics, is leading the betting markets and potentially becoming the first Asian Pope. Born in Manila, Philippines, on 21 June 1957, his good humour and reformist ideas have earned him the nickname ‘the Asian Francis.’
Mirroring Pope Francis’s humble nature, his room at the seminary in the Philippines had no air conditioning or television for around twenty years. Even after becoming a bishop, Cardinal Tagle chose not to have a car, opting to travel to work by bus or ‘jeepney,’ a popular public vehicle in the Philippines.
Cardinal Tagle has often expressed more liberal political leanings, much like Pope Francis, and, according to a report in The Independent, has been critical of the Church’s approach and wording regarding gay individuals, unmarried mothers, and Catholics who have divorced and remarried.
Speaking Up For The Marginalised
”The harsh words that were used in the past to refer to gays and divorced and separated people, the unwed mothers [and so on], in the past, they were quite severe,’ he said in 2015. ‘Many people who belonged to those groups were branded and that led to their isolation from the wider society.”
‘Five or six years ago, he was Pope Francis’s favourite to succeed him,’ Edward Pentin, a Vatican expert and the author of The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates, said. ‘He’s head of the important new super-dicastery for evangelisation. He’s quite a strong contender. And he’s still relatively young,’ Pentin added.
The College of Cardinals Report indicates that in 2019, Pope Francis asked Tagle to reside in Rome as prefect of the respected congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. Subsequently, the congregation was restructured, and Tagle’s new role was announced as pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation.
Furthermore, in 2020, the Pope elevated Tagle to the status of cardinal-bishop, a promotion that many saw as an indication that the Filipino cardinal was a preferred successor at the time.
Will His Age Work Against Him?
However, Cardinal Tagle’s age might be a disadvantage. Cardinals often hesitate to choose a comparatively young individual because their time as Pope could extend for many years, potentially hindering other cardinals’ aspirations and reducing their own opportunities for election later on.
While Cardinal Tagle remains a prominent name, the landscape of potential papal candidates includes several other individuals whose names frequently circulate within Vatican circles.
Other Leading Contenders
Despite the absence of a dominant candidate, which complicates any attempt to guess the outcome, the internet is abuzz with the names of several cardinals who are considered to be in the running:
- Cardinal Peter Turkson
- Cardinal Peter Erdo
- Cardinal Pietro Parolin
- Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
- Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke
- Cardinal Mario Grech
- Cardinal Robert Sarah
- Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu
- Cardinal Angelo Scola
- Cardinal Wim Eijk
- Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet
- Cardinal Vincent Nichols
- Cardinal Kevin Farrell (The stand-in)
With a diverse range of potential candidates, the future direction of the Catholic Church hangs in the balance. The outcome of the conclave will shape the faith of millions worldwide.
