Vatican City: Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin of Italy and Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle are leading the field of ‘papabili’ tipped to succeed the late Pope Francis, British bookmakers are saying. The Italian cardinal is currently favored with a 35% chance, while the Filipino cardinal follows with a 25% probability.
According to Ansa News Agency, other prominent figures in the running include Hungarian cardinal Peter Erdo and Portuguese cardinal Jose Tolentino. Additionally, two Italian figures, Matteo Zuppi, the bishops chief of Bologna, and Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, are also being considered. African cardinals Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Peter Turkson, and Robert Sarah have been quoted as well.
In a surprising twist, some bookmakers are not excluding two individuals over eighty who will not participate in the Conclave but are still technically eligible. These include Italian Angelo Scola, the former archbishop of Milan, and Canadian Marc Ouellet.
Meanwhile, the British tabloid Daily Mail has turned to artificial intelligence for predictions on the new Pope. The result was consistent with the bookmakers’ favorite-Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See.
The conclave is anticipated to commence on Monday, May 5, with cardinals from around the world gathering to elect the new leader of the Catholic Church.
