After the death of a pope, the College of Cardinals is responsible for gathering at the Sistine Chapel and electing a new sovereign of the Vatican and Roman Catholic Church.
In December 2024, Pope Francis installed 21 new cardinals at a consistory. In 1970, Pope Paul VI set a 120-man limit to a papal conclave, a meeting or election of the College of Cardinals.
At the time Pope Francis expanded the college to 142 men, his 10th consistory during his reign as the pope, controversial selections sparked whispers in the Catholic community regarding Pope Francis’ agenda for the duration of his papacy and after his death.
Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Mykola Bychok, 44, was revealed as one of Pope Francis’ cardinal picks in October 2024. The decision received backlash as Major Archbishop of Kyiv, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, was passed over for red cassocks and headgear. Shevchuk was critical of Pope Francis’ reaction to the ongoing war with Russia, though Pope Francis accepted an invitation from the archbishop to visit Ukraine in 2025.
Pope Francis most recently maintained a prominent Italian presence in the college installing five new cardinals from across Italy.
While the consistory is overflowing, only 138 cardinals will vote in the next election as senior members above 80 years old cannot vote.
Italian prelate Pietro Parolin, 70, is a senior cardinal bishop, a high ranking position in the College of Cardinals. Parolin is the highest ranking member of the college under the age of 80. Parolin is considered a “moderate” cardinal in the church.
The two most senior cardinal bishops are Italian prelate Giovanni Battista Re, 91, and Argentine prelate Leonardo Sandri, 81.
Thai prelate Michael Michai Kitbunchu, 96, Asia’s oldest cardinal, is the most senior ranking cardinal priest.
During his papacy, Pope Francis made efforts to be more inclusive of Catholics in the LGBTQ+ community and remarked on same-sex civil unions.
Italian prelate Matteo Zuppi is pro-LGBTQ and made headlines when he was accused of holding a mass to bless a same-sex couple. He is floated as a possible replacement to Pope Francis.
Hungarian prelate Peter Erdö is being tossed around as a replacement to Pope Francis and is considered a conservative who devotes his personal faith to the Virgin Mary.
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