Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, 71 years old, is among the possible candidates to be elected as the next Pope. Born in Tepic, Nayarit in 1950, he has held important positions within the Catholic Church in Mexico. He was appointed Archbishop of Tlalnepantla in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI and has been Archbishop of Guadalajara since 2012. In that same year, he assumed the presidency of the Mexican Bishops' Conference.
On the other hand, Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, 72 years old and born in Mascota, Jalisco, is also considered a potential successor to Francis. Robles Ortega has held significant positions in the Church, including the presidency of the Mexican Bishops' Conference. His career and leadership have made him an influential figure in the Church in Latin America.
The future election process for the new Pope will begin with the conclave, where 252 cardinals, 138 of whom are electors, will lock themselves in the Sistine Chapel to make the decision. In addition to the Mexican cardinals, prominent figures such as Peter Erdö, Pietro Parolin, Luis Antonio Tagle, Peter Turkson, and Raymond Burke, among others, are also considered as possible candidates to occupy the position of Vicar of Christ.
Ana Luisa Trujillo, an academic from UNAM, pointed out that the election of the Pope is influenced by political currents within the Vatican. Both Aguiar Retes and Robles Ortega would need to generate more projection and alliances in the conclave discussions to have better chances of being elected.
After the death of a Pope, funeral rituals begin and subsequently the conclave in which cardinals under 80 years old elect the new leader of the Catholic Church. The duration of this process is unpredictable and will depend on the consensus among the cardinals to reach a decision. Once the successor is elected, it will be announced to the world with the famous 'white smoke' that will come from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
