Newsweek Is A Trust Project MemberFilipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has replaced Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin as the new favorite to become the next pope following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, according to a William Hill, leading bookmaker.
Newsweek has contacted the Vatican for comment on Friday via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
The pope oversees the Catholic Church which had around 1.4 billion followers in 2023, according to the Vatican’s Central Office for Church Statistics, easily making it the biggest church in the world.
This gives the pope significant influence across large swaths of the world. Previous incumbents have spoken out on a range of issues including poverty reduction and opposition to abortion.
What To Know
The latest odds released on Friday by British bookmaker William Hill had former Archbishop of Manila Tagle as the favorite at 9/4 (30.8 percent) ahead of Parolin, currently the Vatican’s Secretary of State, at 5/2 (28.6 percent).
They are followed by Ghanaian Peter Turkson at 5/1 (16.7 percent), Archbishop of Bologna Matteo Zuppi with 11/2 (15.4 percent), Hungarian Primate Péter Erdő with 7/1 (12.5 percent), Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa at 8/1 (11.1 percent) and Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah with 10/1 (9.1 percent).
This is a noticeable reversal from the odds William Hill offered on April 25 when it had Parolin in the lead with 5/2 (28.6 percent) followed by Tagle with 11/4 (26.7 percent) and Turkson with 11/2 (15.4 percent).
