USA TODAY NETWORK
Pope Francis is still in the hospital fighting off an infection and 'complex clinical' condition as many are left wondering who might be next in line for the pontiff seat.
The 88-year-old Argentinean pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened; he was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Friday, according to news reports. He is the 266th pontiff of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City since 2013.
Pope Francis is reported to be in "stable" clinical condition as he continues receiving treatment for bronchitis. In his youth, he endured severe pneumonia and had part of one lung removed. He uses a wheelchair, walker or cane to aid in walking because of reportedly bad knees and sciatica nerve pain and, more recently, he's suffered two falls.
Concerns over Pope Francis' health have mounted in recent years as have questions about his succession.
Here's what we know about who the next pope might be after Pope Francis.
Who is Pope Francis?
Pope Francis is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since March 13, 2013. He is the first pope from the Society of Jesus, the first from Argentina and the Americas.
Who will be the next pope?
Pope Francis was elected to the papacy at the age of 76, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.
Born 'Jorge Mario Bergoglio' in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936, the Pope worked as a bouncer and janitor before becoming a chemist and eventually inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969 and became archbishop in 1998. In 2001 Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal.
If and when Pope Francis is no longer able to continue or fulfill his papal duties, the selection of a new pontiff would ensue via the traditional conclave process.
Pope Francis extended the term of the Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Re on Feb. 6, as dean of the College of Cardinals, a role that will oversee some preparations for a potential conclave — a secretive gathering of cardinals from around the world that would gather in the Vatican City to cast their votes in the Sistine Chapel — that determines the selection of a new pope.
While no clear successor has been named, any baptized Roman Catholic male is technically eligible to be elected pope, albeit traditionally, the pope has been chosen from the College of Cardinals since 1378, according to Religion News Service.
Speculation over some of the more prominent cardinals in line for the pontiff include Cardinals Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state; Peter Turkson, of Ghana, who served as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; and Luis Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since December 2019 and former archbishop of Manila. Some other possible considerations include Cardinals Matteo Zuppi, Gerhard Müller, Angelo Scola, Angelo Bagnasco, Raymond Burke, Robert Sarah, and Malcolm Ranjith.
Edward Pentin, the National Catholic Register's longtime senior Rome correspondent, released a book in August 2020 called "The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates." In it, he lists 19 cardinals that he considers frontrunners, including some American candidates such as Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley, former archbishop of Boston or Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, who was previously archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri.
Maria Francis is a Pennsylvania-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.
Pope Francis was elected to the papacy at the age of 76, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.
Born 'Jorge Mario Bergoglio' in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936, the Pope worked as a bouncer and janitor before becoming a chemist and eventually inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969 and became archbishop in 1998. In 2001 Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal.
If and when Pope Francis is no longer able to continue or fulfill his papal duties, the selection of a new pontiff would ensue via the traditional conclave process.
Pope Francis extended the term of the Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Re on Feb. 6, as dean of the College of Cardinals, a role that will oversee some preparations for a potential conclave — a secretive gathering of cardinals from around the world that would gather in the Vatican City to cast their votes in the Sistine Chapel — that determines the selection of a new pope.
While no clear successor has been named, any baptized Roman Catholic male is technically eligible to be elected pope, albeit traditionally, the pope has been chosen from the College of Cardinals since 1378, according to Religion News Service.
Speculation over some of the more prominent cardinals in line for the pontiff include Cardinals Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state; Peter Turkson, of Ghana, who served as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; and Luis Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since December 2019 and former archbishop of Manila. Some other possible considerations include Cardinals Matteo Zuppi, Gerhard Müller, Angelo Scola, Angelo Bagnasco, Raymond Burke, Robert Sarah, and Malcolm Ranjith.
Edward Pentin, the National Catholic Register's longtime senior Rome correspondent, released a book in August 2020 called "The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates." In it, he lists 19 cardinals that he considers frontrunners, including some American candidates such as Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley, former archbishop of Boston or Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, who was previously archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri.
Maria Francis is a Pennsylvania-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.
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