While the pontiffs have been, mostly, Europeans, have passed almost 700 years Since Spain put a cardinal at the head of the Catholic Church. The last Spanish Pope was Pedro de Lunaknown by your papal name Benedict XIII. And it was not until John Paul II arrived, that the long chain of Italian potatoes broke after centuries.
Bergoglio was the first Latin American Pope who once occupied the cusp of the Vatican and after this period, Everything seems to indicate that the new Pope will be again European. Although in other circumstances, Spain would have a good possibility of having its first Pope in centuries, since it is the third country in number of members of the Cardinal College, the truth is that of the five candidates who do not exceed 80, three are a couple of months, even days of being out of the contest.
Can the next Pope be Spanish?
Among the most popular names is the Aragonese, Archbishop of Barcelona, Juan José Omella. However, it has been discarded, stating that It has no interest in being chosen as the successor of Pope Francis. In fact, he said for EFE from the Episcopal Palace that he would not vote for himself. Of course everything is due to age, Spain has 13 cardinals at school, of which, only five have the right to vote, They are under 80 years.
Candidates like Osoro, Omella and Cañizares are close to overcoming this age limit filed by the Vatican protocol, which would rule them out, at least, unofficially. With an increasingly young school, whose Middle Ages is 69 years and with a tendency to rejuvenate even more, today the Vatican prioritizes other criteria before “the experience” translated into age.
In this way, it is possible to conclude that the Iberian country then has two really “papable” candidates: Ángel Fernández Artime, born in Asturias, from the Salesian school and with 64 years, and José Cobo Cano, from Jaén, 59. While in purely numerical terms Spain would have approximately one 1.5% possibilities —Considerate that only 2 of the 136 voters are considered truly papable, “this is just an initial theoretical estimate.
The reality of the conclave is much more complex. Not all voters are viable candidates; The group of “papables” is usually reduced to between 10 and 20 figures With true international weight and projection. In addition, no Spanish cardinal is currently among the names that sound the most. Among them, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, of the Philippines; the conservative Raymond Burke, from the United States; Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and the influential Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, from Italy.
What are the requirements to be potato?
To be chosen Pope, the formal requirements are quite simple: He must be a baptized and Catholic man. According to canon law, It is not required to be a cardinal, priest or even bishop, Although if the chosen one is not bishop, it must be ordered immediately after the election, Leo xchosen in 1513, for example, he was a stand on foot.
However, in practice, The Pope has been chosen among the cardinals for centuriesand the voters look for someone with a strong pastoral, doctrinal and political profile, capable of leading the Church in the current global context. Experience is valued both in important dioceses and in the Roman curia, as well as the ability to mediate among various currents within the Church.
