(OSV News) — At the upcoming conclave, of the 133 cardinal electors who will enter the Sistine Chapel, 23 will come from Asia. At least six are on various short lists as “papabile,” or “popeable” candidates.
Those lists are mostly created by journalists, but also highlight candidates with certain experiences and age that would fit the requirements for a future pope.
Cardinals Charles Maung Bo of Myanmar, Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Japan, William Goh of Singapore, Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines and Lazzaro You Heung-sik were elevated to the cardinalate by Pope Francis. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Sri Lanka was elevated by Pope Benedict XVI.
‘Francis Broke Open Eurocentrism’
“Several Asians being looked at by the rest of the world, that’s a significant thing for the church,” said Maryknoll Father William Grimm, publisher of the Union of Catholic Asian News wire service, known as UCA News. “Francis broke open the Eurocentrism.”
Father Grimm said they mostly come from countries with small Catholic populations.
“So they would bring a totally different perspective of what it means to be a Catholic Christian, coming out of a position of powerlessness rather than power,” he told OSV News.
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo
Cardinal Bo, a Salesian archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar, often calls for peace in his politically unstable southeast Asian country. Most recently, the immediate past president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences joined several warring tribal factions in calling for a ceasefire so humanitarian aid could enter the country reeling from a 7.7 magnitude earthquake on March 28. More than 3,700 died and the 3 million already displaced by the conflict increased. The armed conflict has been ongoing since the 2021 coup that overthrew longtime leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Michel Chambon, Asian Catholic researcher from the National University of Singapore, said any one of these cardinals could be contenders but at 76, Cardinal Bo’s seniority was attractive.
However, he said, the cardinal made a diplomatic blunder in 2020 when he released a statement blaming China for the pandemic, which was traced back to a lab in Wuhan city. At the height of the outbreak just weeks after international lockdowns started, Cardinal Bo faulted China’s Communist Party for unleashing the deadly virus.
Chambon told OSV News he personally heard from high-ranking church officials about the matter.
“It was not welcomed by a high number of church leaders,” he said.
Cardinal William Goh
Cardinal Goh leads 395,000 Catholics as head of the Archdiocese of Singapore, which Pope Francis visited during his longest apostolic trip. Cardinal Goh, 67, has held multiple leadership roles with the Catholic bishops’ conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei and is a member of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. He regularly pushes strong formation and liturgy to draw people to the church.
A staunch proponent of interreligious dialogue in the city-state of Buddhists, Chistians, Muslims, Taoists and Hindus, Cardinal Goh posted an Eid al-Fitr greeting to Muslims on his Instagram page at the end of Ramadan, which was March 30 this year. He said of the Muslim holy month and Lent coinciding, “This shared spiritual journey serves as a powerful reminder that we must never cease to accompany each other side by side in solidarity, fraternal brotherhood, and genuine friendship.”
Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi
Cardinal Kikuchi of Tokyo, 66, was elevated to cardinalate at the Dec. 7, 2024, consistory.
The Divine Word missionary in early priesthood built schools and church mission stations in Ghana. Then he helped Rwandan refugees displaced by the 1994 genocide.
When Rwanda became too dangerous, Cardinal Kikuchi returned home, moving up the ranks of the church’s humanitarian arm from volunteer to head of Caritas Japan, then Caritas Asia and in 2023 became president of Caritas Internationalis. In 2025, the longtime president of Japan’s bishops’ conference became secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences. In the fall he told OSV News the federation would focus on taking a synodal approach to Catholic migration between Asian countries.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith
Cardinal Ranjith of Colombo is the oldest on the list. The polyglot has spent significant time in Rome, where he has received both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Cardinal Ranjith, 77, was secretary general of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2005-2009 while also papal nuncio in Indonesia and East Timor. From 2001-2004, he was adjunct secretary of the Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples and president of Pontifical Mission Societies.
On April 21, Cardinal Ranjith announced the Vatican had named 167 Catholics who died in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka as “heroes of faith.” About 270 people perished in bombings of several churches and luxury hotels in the south Asian country.
The cardinal has been a vocal critic of the investigation and slow-going trial of the attacks, alleging a cover-up of the findings to protect the masterminds. He called out officials who admitted receiving early attack warnings but did nothing.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle
At 67, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has been labeled the “Asian Francis” for his close ties to the late pope, similar attention to the poor and marginalized, and his pastoral style. He is pro-prefect of the Dicastery for the Evangelization of Peoples and a member of six other dicasteries.
Cardinal Tagle headed Caritas Internationalis for seven years until 2022, when Pope Francis overhauled it. He fired Caritas Secretary-General Aloysius John and also let go of the cardinal, and others, over what the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (which oversees Caritas) called “real deficiencies” in management that shattered employee morale.
A 2019 CNN investigative story uncovered the 2012 criminal conviction of a Belgian Salesian who was director of Caritas Central African Republic, Father Luk Delft, of child sexual abuse and possession of child pornography. He was ordered to stay away from children for 10 years. Years later, two alleged victims made new allegations. A Vatican investigation found that in 2017 Cardinal Tagle and other officials knew about the conviction.
Chambon of National University of Singapore criticized Cardinal Tagle’s handling of the Belgian priest incident.
“(Cardinal Tagle) hasn’t done anything publicly (to address the allegations). I even doubt he did anything in private, which is absolutely not OK,” said Chambon. “He’s very good at smiling and being very emotional and close to people, but he doesn’t deliver as a leader,” he said.
In 2019, the cardinal addressed the issue of clergy abuse in general in delivering the first formal talk of the Vatican summit on child protection and the clerical sexual abuse crisis. He acknowledged how church leaders for so long ignored the suffering of the victims of clerical sexual abuse and covered up the evil crimes of the priest-perpetrators.
Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik
Cardinal You Heung-sik, archbishop emeritus of Daejon in South Korea, has made multiple peace and reconciliation visits to North Korea “keeping the prayer and hope for peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula in his heart,” says his bio on the Vatican website.
The 73-year old convert is from the Diocese of Daejeon, home of the first Korean priest and martyr, St. Andrew Kim Taegon, who was among 10,000 persecuted during a crackdown on Catholicism from the mid-1700s through the 1850s.
Prefect of the Dicastery for Clergy since 2021, Cardinal You boldly invited Pope Francis to the sixth Asian Youth Day gathering in 2014, a small regional meeting of thousands unlike the typical millions that attend World Youth Day events. The pope said yes and during his five-day visit pushed for reconciliation between the communist North and democratic South, which have been divided for over 70 years.
UCA News publisher Father Grimm said chances of having an Asian pope are “not high.”
“We (in the West) don’t even think about Asia unless we happen to be of Asian ancestry. … It would be striking … if any of those Asians actually were to be elected. I think Asia is still off the map,” he said.
For Asian Catholic researcher Chambon, “it is entirely realistic” to have an Asian pope. But ultimately nationality does not matter, he said.
“First and foremost, spiritual depth, more integrity, leadership skills — all those are much more urgent to deliver on whatever are the key issues in terms of the internal church affairs and global affairs,” said Chambon.
Simone Orendain writes for OSV News from Chicago.
