Conclave

The ruling junta, the Rohingya issue that emerged during Pope Francis' visit in 2017, the riches of the territory and the violence of the military. Lights and shadows of a nation born in the same year as the cardinal. The call to fight ‘hatred and division’, the moderate face in domestic politics and attacks on Beijing for violations of rights and religious freedom, as in the arrest of Cardinal Zen.

Highly appreciated by Benedict XVI, the archbishop of Sri Lanka’s capital has held several posts in the Vatican, including that of secretary of the Dicastery for the liturgy. In recent years, he has accompanied the travails of his country, tirelessly asking for justice for the victims of the Easter 2019 massacres.

The first cardinal from the bustling Southeast Asian city-state, he leads a lively and missionary Church with humility, clarity and a heart open to dialogue in an increasingly secularised world. At the synod, he highlighted the spiritual weariness that often afflicts societies that are only apparently successful.

The 65-year-old bishop of Kalookan is one of three Filipino cardinals in the conclave. As a priest, bishop, and then cardinal he always showed a missionary attention for the downtrodden. He was the strongest voice against former President Duterte's "war on drugs" and promoted rehabilitation programmes for drug addicts. He warns against looking at the conclave as a horse race, highlighting the sacredness of the election of a pontiff.

From Kerala, 51, the Syro-Malabar prelate has served in various nunciatures in Latin America as well as the Islamic world. A few days before he was hospitalised at the Gemelli, Pope Francis picked him as prefect of the dicastery for interreligious dialogue. For the cardinal, it is imperative to look at “a world where religious differences not only coexist peacefully but become essential elements in building peace among peoples.”

A 50-year-old Piedmontese, pastor of a community of just 1,400 Catholics in an immense land where the Gospel was proclaimed only 30 years ago, brings to the conclave the breath of the most extreme missionary frontiers of the Catholic Church. He is the face of a community in dialogue with Buddhist believers, with a strong educational and social vitality, in a country nestled (not only geographically) between China and Russia.

As a young priest, the Verbite was a missionary in rural Ghana. Archbishop of Tokyo since 2017, he was elected president of Caritas Internationalis by the assembly of delegates two years ago. At 66, he leads a Church that is coming to terms with the loneliness and contradictions of the great metropolises, stressing the dignity of every human life. During the synod a few months ago, he said, “even Europe today is becoming a periphery.”

The 74-year-old bishop of Penang was born into an ethnic Indian family. He trained at the historic College of Martyrs whose legacy he feels. He leads a vibrant and multicultural Church with indigenous and migrant communities from different backgrounds. At the synod, he pointed to the horizon of a Church that truly “walks with the people”.

The apostolic nuncio in Damascus - who turns 80 next January - is among the cardinals called to choose Bergoglio's successor. Despite the war and violence, he has never left his diplomatic mission or the Christian community. The ‘poverty bomb’, the tragedy of sanctions and the issue of the disappeared, which also affects the Syrian Church.

Elevated by Pope Francis in 2022, the first East Timorese cardinal is a Salesian from a small Catholic country where young people make up 70 per cent of the population, marked by a long struggle for independence from Indonesia. Appointed bishop of Dili in 2016, he inaugurated the John Paul II Catholic University and promotes an “open” and united Church. He remembers the joy of welcoming the pontiff before an immense crowd on Francis’s trip last September.

The archbishop of Goa, 72, has chaired the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences since the start of the year. He has been very attentive to the life of families whom he constantly encouraged in his ministry. As head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India-Latin Rite, he promoted a broad consultation in the dioceses, which led to a document with 16 priorities, including Dalits and digital technologies.

A Franciscan of Belgian origin, he received the cardinal's red hat on 7 December during the last consistory. The Iranian Church is a ‘peripheral’ reality, a small flock that is ‘transparent’ in its faith. Criticism of those who harbour a ‘preconceived’ view of a nation rich in ‘contrasts’. The desire to train ‘local pastors’.