Food for thought. The majority of Francis appointments were from outside of Europe. The percentage of African and Asian Cardinals has increased.

This will be the first conclave in known history in which Europeans will not have the majority of votes. Even then, Europe is still over-represented.

The College of Cardinals will soon convene to vote for a successor to Pope Francis, who died on April 21. Here’s a look at the regional breakdown of voting cardinals, compared with when Francis became pope in 2013: https://t.co/YFWYI7imxt pic.twitter.com/XTedBbumN4

— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) April 21, 2025

Agree. European representation is way too high.

With all the woke ideology nonsense that has infected the Catholic Church you can bet it will be a DEI appointment so get ready for Cardinal Peter Turkson to be the next Pope

As of right now, 108 of the 135 Cardinal-electors were appointed by Francis.

Cardinal Alencherry just turned 80 two days ago and is therefore not eligible to vote. Cardinal Osoro Sierra turns 80 on May 16. I assume he will be eligible as the conclave will likely start before then.

The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, will oversee the conclave. Cardinal Ratzinger was Dean when he was elected in 2005.

After the election, the Cardinal Protodeacon, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, will step onto the balcony and make the announcement. I can't begin to imagine what that must be like.

AtticusMatlock said:

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The Cardinals from Africa are the most conservative Cardinals and are still underrepresented in terms of population. If Turksen or another Cardinal from Africa is elected then it is a sign the Church is taking a turn to the right, not the woke left.

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+1
I'm guessing the person you replied to doesn't know much about the current church makeup.

Well at least we stayed on topic until page 2.

Dirty_Mike&the_boys said:

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With all the woke ideology nonsense that has infected the Catholic Church you can bet it will be a DEI appointment so get ready for Cardinal Peter Turkson to be the next Pope

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Pope Muhammed I

AtticusMatlock said:

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As of right now, 108 of the 135 Cardinal-electors were appointed by Francis.

Cardinal Alencherry just turned 80 two days ago and is therefore not eligible to vote. Cardinal Osoro Sierra turns 80 on May 16. I assume he will be eligible as the conclave will likely start before then.

The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, will oversee the conclave. Cardinal Ratzinger was Dean when he was elected in 2005.

After the election, the Cardinal Protodeacon, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, will step onto the balcony and make the announcement. I can't begin to imagine what that must be like.

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Cardinal Re is 91. Even as Dean he will not take part in the Conclave. Nor will the Vice Dean Cardinal Leonardo Sandri who is 81. The duties of leading the Conclave (inside the Sistine Chapel) then fall to the next most senior Cardinal Bishop younger than 80. This is Cardinal Pietro Parolin who is also the Vatican's Secretary of State and recognized as the number 2 in the church Hierarchy.

Thanks for the clarification. Re will still be the organizer and head of the conclave itself and will lead the meetings leading up to the voting, but will not be involved in the secret voting process itself.

Francis made an unusual move in February in extending his term instead of appointing someone else. Possible he knew the end was near and wanted Re to preside over his funeral, which is one of the Dean's responsibilities.

A Pope with a strong fluency in English would be beneficial in growing the church, it would allow him to communicate more directly with the Western world where the church is weakening.

If the Conclave was F1…

🎥 ig/abs_idea pic.twitter.com/6VTJ6CAFW5

— Vincenzo Landino (@vincenzolandino) April 28, 2025

that is awesome

Tagle is fluent.

I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope. This would truly be a dark horse candidate, but I would ask the papal conclave and Catholic faithful to keep an open mind about this possibility!
 
The first Pope-U.S. President combination has… pic.twitter.com/MM9vE5Uvzb

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 29, 2025

fc2112 said:

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You guys forget that the recently deceased Pope ALWAYS has appointed most of the College. That doesn't keep the Holy Spirit from choosing the pontiff the Church needs.

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Let us be careful to remember that the Holy Spirit does not directly choose the Supreme Pontiff. Rather He guides the College in their choice. It is our responsibility to pray that they listen and heed Him.

That said, trying to predict who the College will choose seems to be a fools errand IMO. These men are beholden to no constituency and political election prediction methodology does not hold. Whomever is chosen, the future of the Church, at least in the West generally and America in particular, is clearly becoming more orthodox (note the lower case "o") and traditional.