GRAPHICS

During his 12 years of service, Pope Francis, the 266th pontiff of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church and its first from Latin America, became known as the “People’s Pope,” a progressive leader who favored reform over tradition.

Francis was a champion for the poor, the destitute, and for immigrants, those who leave their home countries in search of a better or safer life elsewhere. He said people have the right to seek shelter in other lands and criticized the Trump administration for its immigration policies.

Francis was the first non-European pope elected in 1,300 years. He inherited a deeply divided Catholic Church and dealt with sexual abuse scandals by its clergy and other problems, Reuters reported.

As the papal conclave begins to gather in Rome to choose his successor, Catholics around the world – including 53 million adherents in the U.S. – wonder who it will be and how the church could change.

Here are some of the top candidates.

Who could become the next pope?

Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle

• Position: Former archbishop of Manila
• Nationality: Filipino
• Age: 67
• What else? Tagle is often called the “Asian Francis” because of his similar commitment to social justice. If elected he would be the first pontiff from Asia.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin

• Position: Vatican diplomat
• Nationality: Italian
• Age: 70
• What else? Parolin is seen as a compromise candidate between progressives and conservatives. He has been a church diplomat for most of his life and served as Pope Francis’ secretary of state (often called the “deputy pope”) since 2013, the year Francis was elected.

Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson

• Position: Vatican official; president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
• Nationality: Ghanaian
• Age: 76
• What else? Turkson’s background includes tending to congregations in Ghana in addition to leading several Vatican offices. He comes from one of the most dynamic regions of the church, which is struggling against secularism in its European heartlands. He would be the first pope from sub-Saharan Africa.

Cardinal Peter Erdo

• Position: Former president of the Council of Bishops Conferences of Europe
• Nationality: Hungarian
• Age: 72
• What else? Erdo is seen as another compromise candidate. He ranks as a conservative in theology but is also considered to be pragmatic. He never clashed openly with Francis, unlike other tradition-minded clerics.

Jean-Marc Aveline

• Position: Archbishop of Marseille
• Nationality: French
• Age: 66
• What else? Erdo would viewed as a compromise candidate, someone from the conservative camp who has built bridges with Francis’ progressive world.

Cardinal Angelo Scola

• Position: Former archbishop of Milan
• Nationality: Italian
• Age: 82
• What else? Scola has been a candidate for elevation to the papacy in the past. He is more of a traditionalist and is favored by conservatives.

Mario Grech

• Position: Secretary general of the Synod of Bishops
• Nationality: Maltese
• Age: 68
• What else? Grech was initially viewed as a conservative but has become a torchbearer of Francis’ reforms within the church for years. His views have won him some high-profile enemies including conservative Cardinal Gerhard Muller, who accused him of going against Catholic doctrine in 2022.

Cardinal Juan Jose Omella

• Position: Archbishop of Barcelona
• Nationality: Spanish
• Age: 79
• What else? Omella viewed as being much like Pope Francis. He lives a humble life despite his lofty title, dedicating his church career to pastoral care, promoting social justice and embodying a compassionate and inclusive vision of Catholicism.

Matteo Maria Zuppi

• Position: Archbishop of Bologna
• Nationality: Italian
• Age: 69
• What else? Zuppi is called “the Italian Bergoglio” due to his affinity with Francis. Zuppi is known as a “street priest” who focuses on migrants and the poor, and cares little about pomp and protocol. He would be the first Italian pope since 1978.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa

• Position: Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
• Nationality: Italian
• Age: 59
• What else? Pizzaballa has served in Jerusalem and has advocated for peace in the Middle East. He’s criticized the Hamas invasion of Israel and Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza. His relative youth may hurt his chance of being selected.

What nations have produced the most popes?

Italy, the home of Rome and the Vatican, has produced the most popes with 217 while France has 16 popes and Germany has 6.

How many Catholics are in the US?

There are now about 53 million adults who identify as Catholic in the U.S.

Which popes have served the longest?

Which popes have had the shortest reigns?

Who were the youngest and oldest popes?

Whoever is chosen to succeed Francis will have a large legacy to follow.

“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church,” said Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

“He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”

CONTRIBUTING Cybele Mayes-Osterman, John Bacon, Susan Miller and Bart Jansen

SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters; World Population Review; Catholic News Agency