1 week Ago By Chris Samuel
A lesser known cardinal is a potential "wild card" choice to succeed Pope Francis as pontiff - but a key factor could rule him out, an expert says. Francis died aged 88 on Easter Monday after a stroke, following weeks of ill health, with his funeral held on Saturday morning (April 26). World leaders including US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky were in attendance, with the ceremony taking place before huge crowds at St Peter’s Square.
But though senior figures in the Vatican are still reeling from his passing, the neccessary deliberations over who will be the next leader of the Catholic Church have already begun among its College of Cardinals. Various names have emerged as frontrunners, including Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and former Archbishop of Manila, Luis Antonio Tagle. But while odds are shortening on some of the bigger names, Professor Rebecca Rist, Medievalist and Papal Historian at the University of Reading's Department of History says Australian cardinal "Mykola Bychok" could be a "wild card candidate".
Bychok was made a cardinal by Pope Francis only last year, becoming Australia’s highest ranking Catholic official. He was born in the Ukrainian city of Ternopil, and has been a passionate advocate for his "suffering homeland of Ukraine " amid Russia 's on-going invasion, which began on February 2022. However, Professor Rist says at just 45 years old, he's "probably too young".
But though he's a relative whippersnapper compared to the College's old guard, he wouldn't be the greenest pope ever if the Conclave made one its occasional shock moves. John XII who was elected in 995 is thought to have been just 18 years old at the time, though in modern times pontiffs tend to get the role in later life, with the average age of popes at election since 1900 at 67, as per The Washington Post . Bychok speaks several languages including Ukrainian, as per College of Cardinals Report , which provides profiles of cardinals and their stances on various issues.
He is seen as being on the liberal wing of the church, and like Pope Francis has been a vocal advocate for migrants, taking part in The Walk for Justice for Refugees in 2023. Marches took place in Sydney and Melbourne, with the focus of the latter being on "Permanent Visas for all, Fair Processes and income support", as per The Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum . Bychok had been a priest in several countries before moving to Australia in 2020 and becoming a prelate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Melbourne.
Another factor standing in his way may be the desire among cardinals to appease bridge the gap between ideological factions within the church. Professor Rist says given that Pope Francis is associated with "the more liberal/progressive wing of the Church", there is the "possibility that the cardinals will go in the opposite direction and choose as the next pope someone who will be more agreeable to the conservatives / traditionalists in order to hold the Church together and prevent a schism - not least by those traditional mass Catholics who might go Lefebvrian if a liberal was appointed". She suggested the Cardinals might also "go for a more middle of the ground, consensual pope who will not rock the boat either way and can attempt to unite both sides".
But while it looks vanishingly unlikely Bychok would get the nod, it's far from certain the current "top contenders" will either. The academic noted that the Conclave produces "often surprising results since the balloting process" is "secret and so between the cardinals and their consciences"..
