2 weeks Ago By Claire Anderson
Pope Francis has died aged 88 after serving as the Head of the Catholic Church for 12 years. The pontiff had been recovering from pneumonia in both lungs that he suffered from earlier this year, following a bout of asthmatic bronchitis. The pontiff was seen in public on Easter Sunday giving a blessing to thousands at St Peter's Square at the Vatican, appearing frail but able to speak, briefly, to the crowd.
Earlier that morning he had appeared for a brief photo opportunity with the US vice president JD Vance. On Easter Monday officials at the Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis had passed away. Pope Francis ascended to the papacy at 76 years old, succeeding Pope Benedict XVI who resigned in 2013.
On February 6, Pope Francis extended the tenure of Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as dean of the College of Cardinals. This position is responsible for overseeing some aspects of a potential conclave - a confidential assembly of cardinals from around the globe who convene in Vatican City to vote in the Sistine Chapel for the selection of a new pope. While no definitive successor has been identified, technically any baptized Roman Catholic male can be elected pope.
However, traditionally since 1378, the pope has been selected from the College of Cardinals, as reported by Religion News Service. Rumors are circulating about several prominent cardinals who could potentially become the next pontiff. These include Cardinals Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state; Peter Turkson from Ghana, former president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; and Luis Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since December 2019 and ex-archbishop of Manila.
Other potential candidates include Cardinals Matteo Zuppi, Gerhard Muller, Angelo Scola, Angelo Bagnasco, Raymond Burke, Robert Sarah, and Malcolm Ranjith. Edward Pentin, the respected senior Rome correspondent for the National Catholic Register, offered insights into the potential successors to the papacy with his August 2020 book, "The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates." Detailing 19 top picks for the next pontiff, he highlights American contenders like Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, ex-archbishop of Boston, and Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, once archbishop of St.
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