- There are 252 cardinals, lone 135 cardinals person voting presumption and are eligible to ballot for the adjacent Pope erstwhile the conclave begins
- 18 of the 135 cardinals eligible to ballot and elite a caller pontiff to regenerate Pope Francis are from the Africa continent
- Legit.ng recalls that Pope Francis passed distant connected Easter Monday, April 21, 2025 astatine his residence successful the Casa Santa Marta wrong Vatican City
Legit.ng journalist, Adekunle Dada has implicit 8 years of acquisition covering metro, authorities policy, and planetary issues
Vatican City, Italy - No less than 18 Africans are among the 135 cardinals eligible to elite the adjacent Pope pursuing the decease of Pope Francis, calved Jorge Mario Bergoglio, connected Monday, April 21, 2025.
There are 252 cardinals but lone 135 cardinals person voting presumption and are eligible to vote.

Source: Twitter
All cardinals nether the property of 80 can instrumentality portion successful the concealed ballot to beryllium held successful the conclave.
As reported by The Punch, Europe has the highest number, with 53 cardinals of voting status.
Asia has 23 cardinals followed by Africa with 18 voting members of the College of Cardinals.
South America follows with 17, portion North America has 16 cardinal electors.
The continent with the the lowest fig of cardinals are Oceania and Central America, with 4 each.
Cardinal electors of African origin
- Fridolin Besungu (DR Congo)
- Ignace Dogbo (Ivory Coast)
- Stephen Brislin (South Africa)
- Arlindo Furtado (Cape Verde)
- Antoine Kambanda (Rwanda)
- Jean-Pierre Kutwa (Ivory Coast)
- John Njue (Kenya)
- Dieudonne Nzapalainga (Central African Republic)
- Peter Okpaleke (Nigeria)
- Nakellentuba Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso)
- Protase Rugambwa (Tanzania)
- Robert Sarah (Guinea)
- Berhaneyesus Souraphiel (Ethiopia)
- Desire Tsarahazana (Madagascar)
- Peter Turkson (Ghana)
- Jean-Paul Vesco (Algeria)
- Cristobal Romero (Morocco)
- Stephen Mulla (South-Sudan)
These African cardinals are eligible to ballot for the adjacent Pope erstwhile the conclave begins.
Leading cardinals to win Pope Francis
- Peter Erdo (Hungary), Matteo Zuppi (Italy)
- Robert Sarah (Guinea)
- Luis Tagle (Filipino)
- Pietro Parolin (Italy)
- Pierattista Pizzaballa (Jerusalem)
- Willem Eijk (Netherlands)
- Malcolm Ranjith (Sri Lanka)
- Jean-Marc Aveline (France)
- Fridolin Besungu (Congo)
- Anders Arborelius (Sweden)
- Charles Bo (Myanmar)
2 African Cardinals who May go adjacent Pope
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Pope Francis passed distant connected Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, astatine his residence successful the Casa Santa Marta wrong Vatican City.
Just a time earlier his death, the Pontiff made a nationalist quality during Easter Sunday celebrations astatine St. Peter’s Square aft surviving treble pneumonia.
Two African Cardinals, Peter Turkson of Ghana and Fridolin Ambongo Besungo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, person emerged arsenic apical contenders to win the precocious pontiff.
266 Popes who person led Catholic Church
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the papacy has been a cardinal instauration for astir 2 millennia, shaping Catholic doctrine, guiding the faithful, and addressing planetary challenges.
Throughout history, popes person played some spiritual and governmental roles, starring reforms, influencing planetary relations, and facing rival claimants (antipopes).
The list of popes, from St. Peter to today, reflects the endurance and improvement of the Catholic Church, maintaining an unbroken concatenation of enactment This is arsenic the Vatican announced the decease of Pope Francis died astatine the property of 88 connected Monday, April.
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Source: Legit.ng