Three Filipino cardinals to vote for next pope

Metro Manila, Philippines - The Philippines will make history in the Roman Catholic Church when Cardinals Luis Antonio Tagle, Jose Advincula, and Pablo Virgilio David will take part in the conclave to elect a new pope.

One-hundred thirty five cardinals are eligible to participate in the conclave, which is expected to happen 15 to 20 days after the death of Pope Francis.

Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, 88, succumbed to a stroke on Monday, April 21.

The pontiff was in a seeming recovery after five weeks of hospitalization due to double pneumonia. After his discharge on March 23, he appeared at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Easter Sunday.

Who are the eligible Filipino cardinals?

The Philippines has five living cardinals — the highest number to date.

Only cardinals below 80 years old on the day the Holy See seat becomes vacant are eligible to elect the next pontiff.

Cardinals Orlando Quevedo and Gaudencio Rosales are 92 and 86 years old, respectively.

The cardinals eligible to choose the next pope are Advincula (73), Tagle (67), and David (65).

Here are some quick facts about them:

+ Tagle is the current pro-prefect of the Section for the First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization. He was the lone Filipino cardinal during the 2013 conclave, which elected Francis. He is among what Vatican observers call “papabili,” or a likely candidate for the papacy.

+ Advincula has been the Manila archbishop since 2021. He filled in the vacancy following Tagle’s appointment to the Vatican. Advincula was bishop of San Carlos from 2001 to 2011, then transferred to the metropolitan See of Capiz.

+ David is the bishop of the Diocese of Caloocan. David is also president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. He was installed in December 2024.

The Philippines is predominantly a Roman Catholic nation and has one of the largest Catholic populations in the world.