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’.

The College of Cardinals Francis created reflects the world more than the Catholic Church, or rather, it reflects her missionary vocation. Numbers count far less than bearing evangelical witness, which Christians are expected to live in the community of nations. For this reason, starting tomorrow we will present the Who’s Who of the cardinals from Asia called to enter the Sistine Chapel to elect the new pontiff.