Categories: Europe News

Next Pope election: Ten cardinals who could be Pope by next week

The process of electing a successor to Benedict XVI is under way and here are 10 of the candidates in the running to lead the Catholic Church.

Joao Braz de Aviz

  • Archbishop of Brasilia
  • Born 1947 in Santa Caterina, Brazil
  • As young priest, caught in a robbery’s cross-fire
  • Studied at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian and Lateran Universities
  • Made cardinal in 2012
  • Focuses on welfare of the poor

Timothy Dolan

  • Archbishop of New York
  • Born 1950 in St Louis, Missouri, US
  • PhD in Church history and was rector of Rome’s North American College
  • One of Time’s 100 most influential people for 2012

Marc Ouellet

  • Archbishop of Quebec, head of Congregation for Bishops
  • Born 1944 in La Motte, Quebec
  • Decided to become a priest as a teenager
  • Taught in seminaries in Colombia and Canada

Gianfranco Ravasi

  • President of the Pontifical Council for Culture
  • Born 1942 in Lecco, Italy
  • Chose priesthood over teaching Latin and Greek classics
  • Helped popularize scripture studies through Italian media

Leonardo Sandri

  • Head of Vatican dept for Eastern Churches
  • Born 1943 in Argentina to Italian parents
  • Became a papal diplomat after ordination
  • Served as Vatican’s chief-of-staff 2000-07
  • Speaks English, French, German, Italian and Spanish

The process of electing a successor to Benedict XVI is under way

Odilo Scherer

  • Archbishop of Sao Paulo
  • Born 1949 in Cerro Lago, Brazil, of German-Brazilian heritage
  • Doctorate in theology
  • Head of Church’s largest dioceses in world’s largest Catholic country

Christoph Schoenborn

  • Archbishop of Vienna
  • Born 1945, son of a Bohemian count
  • Seen as Benedict’s intellectual protégé
  • Respected by Jews, Muslims and Orthodox Christians
  • Embroiled in  open rebellion by hundreds of own priests in Austria
  • Has broken ranks to speak in favor of reform

Angelo Scola

  • Archbishop of Milan
  • Born 1941 in Milan, Italy
  • Son of a truck driver
  • Has doctorates in Christian philosophy and theology
  • Italian newspaper calls him “crown prince of Catholicism”

Luis Tagle

  • Archbishop of Manila
  • Born 1957 in the Philippines
  • Reputation as a man of the people
  • Media-savvy, frequent broadcaster
  • Served on International Theologian Commission
  • Made cardinal in November 2012

Peter Turkson

  • Archbishop of Cape Coast, general secretary of Synod for Africa
  • Born 1948 in western Ghana
  • Attended New York seminary
  • First-ever Ghanaian cardinal in 2003
  • Seen as a moderate
Diane A. Wade

Diane is a perfectionist. She enjoys searching the internet for the hottest events from around the world and writing an article about it. The details matter to her, so she makes sure the information is easy to read and understand. She likes traveling and history, especially ancient history. Being a very sociable person she has a blast having barbeque with family and friends.

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