A Filipino cardinal dubbed the ‘Asian Francis’ is one of the front-runners to succeed Pope Francis as the conclave to decide the next head of the Catholic Church begins today.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, 67, is a leading Vatican figure and one of the progressive cardinals that are part of the papal conclave in Vatican City.
If he succeeds in winning the two-thirds majority needed from the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Tagle would become the first Filipino pope and the first Asian pope, representing one of the largest Catholic nations in the world.
Dr Sandie Cornish, a senior lecturer in theology at the Australian Catholic University, said the cardinals would be looking for someone who can combine handling the administrative needs of the Vatican with taking it in the right direction and building connections.
“[The pope] is effectively the CEO of the Vatican and needs to be able to manage that whole process,” Dr Cornish said.
“He (Tagle) is a great communicator, he’s very connected to young people, very happy to use all the contemporary modes of communication to be in touch with them.”
She added the notion of progressive candidates meant different things to different people in the context of a conservative institution like the Catholic Church.
“It’s very hard actually to label someone like Pope Francis a progressive,” she said. “A number of things he had attitudes and commitments about would be considered to be quite conservative.
“He was not pro-abortion for example. In many ways he was quite conservative. In that kind of way people use those labels.”
Born in Manila in 1957, Cardinal Tagle’s father came from an upper-class Filipino family, while his mother’s family were Chinese immigrants to the Philippines.
He carries that Filipino spirit of joy, humility and deep faith. He’s very inspiring and makes faith feel real and relevant.
He joined the seminary after changing his initial plans to become a physician and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Manila at the age of 24.
Almost 20 years later, he became the Bishop of Imus (his hometown), located 20 km south of Metro Manila. In 2011, he became the Archbishop of Manila and a year later, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him a cardinal.
Tagle’s years of pastoral experience and theological training made him a front-runner for the papacy as early as 2013, though that conclave resulted in the election of Pope Francis.
Father Marcelo Pamintuan, who was a priest in Manila when Cardinal Tagle was Archbishop and is now a chaplain at Westmead Hospital in western Sydney, said Tagle’s openness made him popular among the congregation in Manila.
“He could mingle well, especially with the poor… everybody loved him in Manila,” he added.
Father Danai Penollar, the parish priest of Mary Immaculate in Bossley Park in south-west Sydney, also spent some time with Cardinal Tagle when he visited Australia in 2014.
“I never saw him get angry”, he said. “I’ve worked in cathedrals [during special events]… sometimes they [cardinals] can be explosive. In a moment of anger, they snap at you. But with him, I never saw him [angry] once. He was always very thoughtful, very genuine.”
Father Penollar agreed, recalling listening to Cardinal Tagle speak to congregations during his visit.
“In one homily, in one speech, he had people crying and rejoicing and laughing — it was a whole rollercoaster of emotions.”
Mary Santa Maria, a Catholic Filipina-Australian churchgoer from western Sydney, believed Cardinal Tagle spoke from the heart.
“He carries that Filipino spirit of joy, humility and deep faith”, she said. “He’s very inspiring and makes faith feel real and relevant. You can tell he really cares about people.”
Mary Santa Maria, second from left, with her family at their local church in Greystanes. Photo supplied.
The General Congregations of Cardinals which took place over the past week were an opportunity for the conclave’s participants to discuss the qualities they believe the new Pope should have.
Vatican News has reported many cardinals hoped “for a shepherd close to the people” and a pope who would build connections between religious and cultural groups.
Cardinal Tagle has held several leadership roles within the realm of the Vatican, including as the pro-prefect for the Section of First Evangelisation of the Diacestry of Evangelisation and more recently as a member of APSA, the Vatican’s treasury and central bank.
One of his most prominent roles as president of Caritas Internationalis (the Catholic Church’s international relief agency) was interpreted as Tagle falling out of favour with Pope Francis in 2022.
The late pope fired the organisation’s management (including Tagle) following allegations of mismanagement which impacted team morale.
However, Father Penollar said Tagle continued to be held in high regard by the pope after the scandal, and his possible accession to the papacy could instead be limited by his relatively young age.
“No one wants to vote for a long pontificate,” he said. “I think it’s a fallback that if you’re longing for a change, you’re not going to wait for too long.”
Dr Cornish also thinks other contenders for the papacy who are less well-known may emerge in the process of the conclave.
“Who had heard of Jorge Bergoglio before he was elected [as Pope Francis]? Hardly anyone outside of Latin America, and he was not one of the names that was being quoted beforehand,” she said.
“So we could have another situation like that.
When people see themselves in leadership positions, they feel that their reality is understood more.
“Some of the people I know in the Philippines see Virgilio David as the real ‘Asian Francis’.
“Not so much the big media personality, but certainly someone very much after Pope Francis’ heart, [he] has a reputation for being able to get things done and for being a very practical person, [and] speaks an enormous range of languages which also is helpful in terms of being able to communicate directly with more of the church.”
Santa Maria hopes the next pope is open-minded, down-to-earth and can stay true to core church values while responding to modern issues.
“The Church is going through a lot, but there’s also a chance to grow and be more inclusive,” she added. “Whoever the next pope is, we’re praying he helps lead with love, compassion, and courage.”
In one of the most racially diverse conclaves in history, Dr Cornish says an Asian pope would be a sign of the church “embracing its internationality”.
“It would give great heart to Christians in Asia and Africa,” she added.
“When people see themselves in leadership positions, they feel that their reality is understood more.”
Within the Philippines, where 80 per cent of the population is Catholic, the idea that a kababayan (fellow countryman) could become the next leader of the Catholic Church is exciting and a source of pride.
“We don’t think he will be focused only on the Philippines or on the Filipinos. Because when he becomes a pope, he’s a pope for all of us,” said Father Pamintuan.
“For me personally, anyone who will become a pope will be fairly accepted too, and we’ll always be happy to welcome the new pope, whether it will be Tagle or not.”
Main image of Cardinal Antonio Tagle from Wikimedia and Canva.
