Each day between now and the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis, on a date yet to be set, John Allen is offering a profile of a different papabile, the Italian term for a man who could be pope. There’s no scientific way to identity these contenders; it’s mostly a matter of weighing reputations, positions held and influence wielded over the years. There’s also certainly no guarantee one of these candidates will emerge wearing white; as an old bit of Roman wisdom has it, “He who enters a conclave as a pope exits as a cardinal.” These are, however, the leading names drawing buzz in Rome right now, at least ensuring they will get a look. Knowing who these men are also suggests issues and qualities other cardinals see as desirable heading into the election. —John Allen, Jr.
Here is a link to John Allen’s assessment of the candidates, beginning with Pietro Parolin. Scroll to read his assessment of each candidate: they are in order.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/04/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-pietro-parolin
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
Here is a link to John Allen’s assessment of the candidates, continuing with Matteo Zuppi.
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/04/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-matteo-zuppi
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/04/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-pietro-parolin
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/04/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-fridolin-ambongo-besungu
Cardinal Pizzballa
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/04/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-pierbattista-pizzaballa
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/04/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-jean-marc-aveline
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/04/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-luis-antonio-chito-tagle
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/05/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-robert-francis-prevost
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/05/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-anders-arborelius
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/05/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-mario-grech
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/05/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-cristobal-lopez-romero
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/05/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-malcolm-ranjith
Cardinal Fernando Filon
https://cruxnow.com/papal-transition/2025/05/papabile-of-the-day-cardinal-fernando-filoni
