The College of Cardinals Report

Who they are.
Where they stand.

The Papabili

12 leading Cardinal Candidates to be Pope

Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco

Archbishop Emeritus of Genoa, Italy

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi

Archbishop of Bologna, Italy

Cardinal Robert Sarah

Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

Cardinal Luis Tagle

Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith

Metropolitan Archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka

Cardinal Pietro Parolin

Vatican Secretary of State

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

Cardinal Péter Erdő

Metropolitan Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary

Cardinal Willem Eijk

Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht, Netherlands

Cardinal Anders Arborelius

Bishop of Stockholm, Sweden

Cardinal Charles Bo

Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline

Metropolitan Archbishop of Marseille, France

The Conclave:

Its History and Nature

Learn about the cardinalate — how its roots go back to ancient Jewish practice and how it later developed into a pivotal component of the Catholic hierarchy. Discover the roles of present-day cardinals which include advising the Roman pontiff, overseeing dioceses, and, above all, electing a pope. Understand the nature of a conclave and how it works. And learn about the qualities needed to be a pope, drawing on historical guidance from figures such as St. Bernard of Clairvaux.

Map & Stats

Cardinals

by Country and Continent

Using this interactive map, discover the geographical breakdown of the cardinals worldwide, what proportion of the Sacred College comes from each country and continent, and other important statistics.

Launch the map