POPE LEO XIV
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Tomorrow afternoon, 133 cardinal electors will enter the Sistine Chapel to elect the next pope following the death of Pope Francis. This conclave — the first since 2013 — is made up of a reconfigured Catholic hierarchy, one shaped by Francis’ intentional shift away from traditional power centers in favor of new voices from the “peripheries.”
Of the 133 electors, 108 were created by Pope Francis himself. Most will be participating in a conclave for the first time, as Francis was pope for just over a dozen years.
In past conclaves, cardinal electors routinely included the archbishops of established European dioceses like Paris, Milan, Vienna, and Kraków. Not this time. For the first time in modern history, none of these once-assumed seats of power are represented in the College of Electors. Major sees like Sydney, Genoa, Palermo, and Armagh are also absent.
Instead, this conclave exposes the reach of a Church that has grown most vigorously outside of Europe.
Under Francis, red hats went to places that had never before seen a cardinal — from the Amazon to Mongolia, from Lesotho to Brunei. These appointments, often overlooked by global media, were never just symbolic. They are now central to choosing the next Bishop of Rome.
Where are most Catholics?
The five countries with the most Catholics today are not in Europe. They are in America (3 countries), and Asia and Africa.
Brazil: Depending on the survey, the number of Catholics in Brazil is counted at somewhere between 100 million and 140 million. This country has 7 electors.
Mexico: The southern most North American country is not far behind Brazil, without about 100 million Catholics. This country has 2 electors.
Philippines: The Asian country with the most Catholics, the faithful there number some 93 million, almost 80% of the population. This country has 3 electors.
United States: In the US, Catholics make up about 20% of the population, meaning they number about 71 million. This country has 10 electors.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: And in Africa, where the Church is growing rapidly in a number of countries, the most faithful are here: about 35 million, with some estimates going as high as 60 million. This country has one elector.
As the choosing of a pope is not a democratic process like a presidential election, it is not necessary for large Catholic communities to have cardinals. But it is interesting to see how the numbers play out.
Uganda is the country with the largest number of Catholics (about 20 million) but no electors this conclave. Other African nations with large numbers of Catholics and no voters include Angola and Cameroon.
Vietnam, with almost 6 million Catholics, does not have an elector this conclave. Ireland, with its rich Catholic history and about 3.5 million faithful, doesn't have one either.
A total of 55 countries have one cardinal elector and 71 countries are represented in all.
Electors by continent:
Europe: 53
Asia: 23
Africa: 18
North America: 16
South America: 17
Central America: 4
Oceania: 4
Top-represented countries:
Italy: 17
United States: 10
Brazil: 7
Spain: 6
France: 5
India, Argentina, Portugal, Poland, Canada: 4 each
While Italy still holds the largest single national bloc, it no longer dominates as it once did. The balance of power has tilted outward, echoing Francis’ consistent call for a missionary Church that listens from the margins.
A two-thirds majority — 89 votes this time — is required to elect the new pope.
Whether the next pope comes from Asia, Africa, Latin America, or Europe, this conclave makes one thing clear: The Catholic Church is unmistakably global — and deeply marked by the legacy of a pope who gave the red hat not to the expected, but to the overlooked.
