World

VATICAN CITY — Hundreds of thousands of mourners and world leaders including US President Donald Trump packed St Peter's Square on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis, "pope among the people" and the Catholic Church's first Latin American leader.

Some waited overnight to get a seat in the vast square in front of St Peter's Basilica, with the Vatican reporting some 250,00 people attended, in an outpouring of support for the Argentine pontiff.

More than 50 heads of state were also present at the solemn ceremony, including Trump -- who met several world leaders in a corner of the basilica beforehand, notably Ukraine's Volodomyr Zelensky, in their first face-to-face since their Oval Office clash in February.

The crowds applauded as the pope's coffin was carried out of the basilica by white gloved pallbearers, accompanied by more than 200 red-robed cardinals, and then again as it was taken back after the approximately two-hour mass.

Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, was "a pope among the people, with an open heart", who strove for a more compassionate, open-minded Catholic Church, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said in his funeral homily.

There was applause again from the masses gathered under bright blue skies as he hailed the pope's "conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open".

Francis sought to steer the centuries-old Church into a more inclusive direction during his 12-year papacy, and his death prompted a global outpouring of emotion.

"I'm touched by how many people are here. It's beautiful to see all these nationalities together," said Jeremie Metais, 29, from Grenoble, France.

"It's a bit like the centre of the world today."

Italian and Vatican authorities mounted a major security operation for the ceremony, with fighter jets on standby and snipers positioned on roofs surrounding the tiny city state.

After the funeral, the pope's simple wooden coffin was put onto a white popemobile for a slow drive through the streets of Rome to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he will be buried.

The funeral sets off the first of nine days of official Vatican mourning for Francis, who took over following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.

After the mourning, cardinals will gather for the conclave to elect a new pope to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

'Build bridges, not walls' 

Many of Francis's reforms angered traditionalists, while his criticism of injustices, from the treatment of migrants to the damage wrought by global warming, riled many world leaders.

Yet the former archbishop of Buenos Aires's compassion and charisma earned him global affection and respect.

"His gestures and exhortations in favour of refugees and displaced persons are countless," Battista Re said.

He recalled the first trip of Francis's papacy to Lampedusa, an Italian island that is often the first port of call for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, as well as when the Argentine celebrated mass on the border between Mexico and the US.

Trump's administration drew the pontiff's ire for its mass deportation of migrants, but the president has paid tribute to "a good man" who "loved the world".

Making the first foreign trip of his second term, Trump sat among dozens of leaders from other countries -- many of them keen to bend his ear over a trade war he unleashed, among other subjects.

The White House said Saturday that the president had a "very productive" meeting with Zelensky before the funeral, while a second meeting was planned after, the Ukrainian presidency said.

Kyiv published a photo of the encounter, the two men sitting face to face in red and gold chairs in the basilica, as well as another showing Zelensky huddled with Trump, Britain's KeirStarmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.

In the homily, Battista Re highlighted Francis's incessant calls for peace, and said he urged "reason and honest negotiation" in efforts to end conflicts raging around the world.

"'Build bridges, not walls' was an exhortation he repeated many times," the cardinal said.

Trump's predecessor Joe Biden also attended the funeral, alongside UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Germany's Olaf Scholz, Italy's Giorgia Meloni, and Lebanon's Joseph Aoun.

Israel -- angered by Francis's criticism of its conduct in Gaza -- sent only its Holy See ambassador. China, which does not have formal relations with the Vatican, did not send any representative.

Italian mourners Francesco Morello, 58, said the homily about peace was a "fitting, strong and beautiful message".

Of the world leaders gathered, Morello noted: "He could not bring them together in life but he managed in death."

Simple tomb 

Francis died of a stroke and heart failure less than a month after he left hospital where he had battled pneumonia for five weeks.

He loved nothing more than being among his flock, taking selfies with the faithful and kissing babies, and made it his mission to visit the peripheries, rather than mainstream centresof Catholicism.

His last public act, the day before his death, was an Easter Sunday blessing of the entire world, ending his papacy as he had begun it -- with an appeal to protect the "vulnerable, the marginalised and migrants".

The Jesuit chose to be named after Saint Francis of Assisi, saying he wanted "a poor Church for the poor", and eschewed fine robes and the papal palace.

Instead, the Church's 266th pope lived at a Vatican guesthouse and chose to be interred in his favourite Rome church -- the first pontiff to be buried outside the Vatican walls in more than a century.

Catholics around the world held events to watch the proceedings live, including in Buenos Aires, where Francis was born Jorge Bergoglio in the poor neighbourhood of Flores in 1936.

"The pope showed us that there was another way to live the faith," said Lara Amado, 25, in the Argentine capital.

Francis asked to be put inside a single wooden coffin to be laid in a simple marble tomb, marked only with the inscription "Franciscus", his name in Latin.

Refused to judge 

Francis's admirers credit him with transforming perceptions of the Church and helping revive the faith following decades of clerical sex abuse scandals.

He was considered a radical by some for allowing divorced and remarried believers to receive communion, approving the baptism of transgender believers and blessings for same-sex couples, and refusing to judge gay Catholics.

But he also stuck with some centuries-old dogma, notably holding firm on the Church's opposition to abortion.

Francis strove for "a Church determined to take care of the problems of people and the great anxieties that tear the contemporary world apart", Battista Re said.

"A Church capable of bending down to every person, regardless of their beliefs or condition, and healing their wounds".

KYIV, Ukraine — Crimea, the focus of fresh tensions between US President Donald Trump and his Ukranian counterpart VolodymyrZelensky, was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 in the first act of the countries' ongoing war.

According to US media reports, Washington's plan to end the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, includes the US recognizing Russian control of the peninsula -- a prospect unacceptable to Kyiv.

The annexation of Crimea in March 2014 sparked the first wave of Western sanctions against Russia, and caused a surge in tensions in Moscow's relations with Ukraine as well as with the United States and Europe.

Here are some facts about the territory.

Pre- and post-Soviet history

The Black Sea peninsula has a rugged landscape and beautiful beaches as well as ancient remains and architecture reflecting a diverse history of settlers including Greeks, Romans, Tatars and Turks.

Its main sea resort, Yalta, hosted the conference of British, Soviet and US leaders that divided up Europe at the end of World War II. Its warm temperate climate makes it also a wine-growing region.

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, himself from Ukraine, transferred Crimea from Russia to Ukraine in 1954 as a "gift" to commemorate 300 years of a treaty between the Ukrainian Cossacks and the Russian tsardom.

But this was largely a symbolic move since Ukraine and Russia were both republics of the USSR.

A year after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 Kyiv gave Crimea the status of an autonomous republic in a bid to prevent separatist tendencies among its mainly Russian-speaking population.

After years of disputes, Russia gained the right to station its naval fleet in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, extending its sphere of operations in the Black Sea and beyond, towards the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Despite this agreement, the Crimean issue poisoned relations between Moscow and Kyiv for years. Some regional officials regularly challenged Ukraine's right to be in charge there.

2014 annexation 

After pro-Western authorities came to power in Ukraine following the Maidanrevolution in February 2014, clashes erupted in Crimea between pro-Moscow and pro-Kyiv supporters.

A heavily armed pro-Russian commando unit seized the parliament building, supported by thousands of uniformed personnel deployed across the peninsula.

Those soldiers, in balaclavas and without military insignia, quickly took control of public buildings and besieged Ukrainian military bases. President Vladimir Putin only later acknowledged that they were Russian soldiers.

On March 16 Russia held a hastily-organised referendum in Crimea. It said that 97 per cent voted "yes" to Crimea becoming part of Russia.

The vote was declared null and void by Kyiv and the West, which denounced as illegal its annexation, formalised in a treaty signed by Putin.

The treaty has still not been recognised as valid except by a handful of countries including Afghanistan, Cuba, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Syria and Zimbabwe. China has not recognised the annexation, nor have some Moscow-allied countries such as Belarus and Kazakhstan.

The European Union, the United States, Britain and Canada adopted initial sanctions against Russia, in the form of asset freezes, embargoes targeting specific sectors and a ban on investments in Crimea.

Crimea since 2014

Crimea, which covered 4.5 per cent of Ukraine's territory, was integrated into Russia in 2014, becoming an autonomous republic with its own government and institutions subordinate to Moscow.

The city of Sevastopol was granted a special separate status, like the Russian capital and the north-westerncity of Saint Petersburg.

The ruble replaced the Ukrainian hryvnia currency and the peninsula switched to Moscow time, while Russian companies, including some banks and telephone operators, set up branches there.

Western and Ukrainian tourism to the region slumped, replaced by hordes of Russian and Belarusian holidaymakers.

Local authorities are massively distributing Russian passports to the population, while the Crimean Tatars, a Muslim minority who voted overwhelmingly against the annexation, are subject to repression.

In 2016, the Mejlis, the representative body of the Crimean Tatar community, was declared "extremist", sparking a wave of arrests and forced exile.

Since 2018, the peninsula has been linked to mainland Russia by the Kerch road bridge, 19 kilometres (12 miles) long. It has been struck and damaged by Ukrainian forces numerous times.

LONDON — An international summit on the future of energy security opened in London on Thursday with stark opposition from Washington, which called policies to phase out fossil fuels "harmful and dangerous".

Profound differences emerged at the two-day International Energy Agency (IEA) meeting over the role of renewables in satisfying the world's thirst for energy.

The meeting takes place amid global economic turmoil sparked by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

"Some want to regulate every form of energy besides the so-called renewables, completely out of existence... We oppose these harmful and dangerous policies. This is not energy security," Tommy Joyce, US Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs, told the conference.

That contrasted to a more moderate message from IEA executive director Fatih Birol in opening remarks at the summit, co-hosted by the UK.

"Every economy has its own pathway for energy. We should understand and respect it," he said.

He added also that "oil and gas are key parts of our energy mix, and they will remain as part of the energy mix in years to come."

Birol's comments depart from the IEA's own forecast in 2023 that fossil fuel demand would peak before 2030.

Meanwhile, British Energy Secretary Ed Miliband welcomed "low carbon energy" as playing "a critical role in delivering energy security."

"As long as energy can be weap\onised against us, our countries and our citizens are vulnerable and exposed," he added.

Several energy ministers from European countries attended the gathering, including 120 senior government officials, business leaders, and experts.

The United States is only represented by acting deputy secretaries of state, while China, Saudi Arabia and Russia are skipping the event altogether.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was set to later detail Europe's efforts to promote affordable and sustainable energy.

 Renewable energy disagreements 

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries [OPEC] has welcomed the meeting.

"The overall theme is one that OPEC supports. It is positive to see the IEA refocusing on energy security after veering away from this fundamental goal," the group said on Wednesday.

"Many net zero policies have endorsed unrealistic timelines or had little regard for energy security, affordability or feasibility," said OPEC, which has previously described the phasing out of fossil fuels as a "fantasy".

OPEC, whose membership is dominated by oil-producing Gulf states, believes that energy security must be achieved by adding renewable energy sources to existing fossil fuels, not by replacing them.

European countries believe, however, that nuclear energy and renewables are the best way to avoid dependence on imported oil and gas, the prices of which have been increasingly volatile since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In the United States, Trump has repeatedly stated that he wants to lower energy prices with a "drill baby drill" approach in oil and gas fields, while limiting the development of wind power projects.

The French Energy Ministry noted that the mission of the IEA, which was established in 1974 in response to the first oil crisis, remains "to promote the energy transition as a tool for energy sovereignty."

It said "there is no stated American agenda for this meeting, and no European concern about a deviation from the agenda."

But according to a source at a major European energy company, the IEA and Birol have moderated their rhetoric toward renewables in recent months.

The idea is to "avoid antagonising the Trump administration and to calm things down a little with OPEC", this source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's government hit back on Thursday with a string of tit-for-tat measures against its neighbour India, who accused Islamabad of supporting "cross-border terrorism" following a brutal attack on Indian tourists.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a rare meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) with top military officials, including powerful Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, in the capital Islamabad in response to India's measures.

"Any threat to Pakistan's sovereignty and to the security of its people will be met with firm reciprocal measures in all domains," a statement released by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's office said after the NSC meeting.

New Delhi suspended a water-sharing treaty, announced the closure of the main land border crossing with Pakistan, downgraded diplomatic ties and withdrew visas for Pakistanis on Wednesday night, just over 24 hours after gunmen killed 26 men in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The slew of measures announced by the Pakistan government in response on Thursday included expelling Indian diplomats and cancelling visas for Indian nationals with the exception of Sikh pilgrims.

Pakistan also warned that it would consider any attempt by India to stop the supply of water from the Indus River an "act of war and responded with full force across the complete spectrum of national power".

Islamabad said Indian military advisers were "persona non grata".

"They are directed to leave Pakistan immediately," the statement said.

Pakistan's airspace was also closed with immediate effect "for all Indian owned or Indian operated airlines", while the main Wagah border crossing in Punjab was also closed.

"All cross-border transit from India through this route shall be suspended, without exception," the statement said.

"All trade with India including to and from any third country through Pakistan is suspended forthwith."

VATICAN CITY — Huge crowds were expected at St Peter's Basilica on Thursday for a glimpse of Pope Francis's body on the second day of public tributes ahead of the Catholic leader's weekend burial.

Close to 20,000 people filtered past the Argentine's open, red-lined wooden coffin in the first few hours of the lying in state on Wednesday, the Vatican said. Many more were predicted ahead of Saturday's funeral.

Italy is preparing a massive security operation for the funeral in front of St Peter's, with world leaders including US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky due to join hundreds of thousands of mourners.

Francis died on Monday after 12 years as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, during which time he made a name for himself as a pope of the marginalised.

Mourners queued for up to four hours on Wednesday to say their goodbyes to Francis, who was dressed in his papal vestments -- a red chasuble, white mitre and black shoes -- and with a rosary laced between his fingers.

But such was the demand that each mourner was ushered past the casket within seconds, many hurriedly catching the moment on their smartphones.

Argentine Federico Rueda, 46, said that despite the rush, he would not have missed the opportunity.

"It is worth missing out on other places to say goodbye to an Argentine: a very worthy pope," he said as he stood proudly wearing the jersey of Argentina's national football team, the current world champions.

Mexican Leobardo Guevara, 24 and draped in his country's flag, said he felt "a sense of peace" as he filed past the body of the first pope from the Americas.

Security operation 

Francis, an energetic reformer who took over in 2013, died on Monday aged 88 after suffering a stroke.

His death at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican came less than a month after he was released from five weeks in hospital with double pneumonia.

Francis's casket was initially put on display for Vatican officials and clergy in the Santa Marta chapel, before being transferred to St Peter's Wednesday in a procession including cardinals, clergy and Swiss Guards.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was among those who paid respects on Wednesday, and scores of world leaders and dignitaries will attend the funeral.

They include Argentine President Javier Milei and Britain's Prince William, although Russia -- which has for centuries had icy ties with the Vatican -- said it would send its culture minister.

Authorities expect up to 170 foreign delegations and have ramped up security for the funeral.

Italy's civil protection agency estimates that "several hundred thousand" people will descend on Rome on what was already set to be a busy weekend due to a public holiday.

No conclave date yet 

After the funeral, Francis's coffin will be taken to his favouritechurch, Rome's papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

His will requested that he be interred in the ground, his simple tomb marked with just one word: Franciscus.

Following that, all eyes will turn to the process to choose Francis's successor.

Cardinals from around the world are returning to Rome for the conclave, which will begin no fewer than 15 days and no more than 20 days after a pope's death.

Only those under the age of 80 -- currently some 135 cardinals -- are eligible to vote.

Cardinals have agreed that the traditional nine days of mourning for the pope, the so-called "novemdiales", will begin on Saturday and conclude on May 4.

Another meeting of cardinals of all ages was set for Thursday at 9:00am (0700 GMT).

However, the Vatican brushed aside hopes of an announcement of the conclave date, insisting the focus is on the funeral.

At the time of his death, Francis was under doctors' orders to rest for two months.

But the headstrong pope continued to make public appearances despite appearing tired and short of breath.

On Easter Sunday, one day before he died, he circled St Peter's Square in his popemobile to greet the crowds, stopping to kiss babies along the way.

WASHINGTON — More than 100 US universities and colleges, including Ivy League institutions Princeton and Brown, issued a joint letter on Tuesday condemning President Donald Trump's "political interference" in the education system.

The move comes a day after Harvard University sued the Trump administration, which has threatened to cut funding and impose outside political supervision.

"We speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education," the letter read.

"We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion," it said, adding: "We must reject the coercive use of public research funding."

Trump has sought to bring several prestigious universities to heel over claims they tolerated campus anti-Semitism, threatening their budgets, tax-exempt status and the enrolment of foreign students.

The letter said the universities and colleges were committed to serving as centres where "faculty, students, and staff are free to exchange ideas and opinions across a full range of viewpoints without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation."

Trump's war against universities has seen him threaten to cut federal funding over policies meant to encourage diversity among students and staff.

The Republican president has also pursued a wide-ranging immigration crackdown that has expanded to foreign students, revoking their visas, often for little or no reason.

The White House has publicly justified its campaign against universities as a reaction to uncontrolled "anti-Semitism" and the desire to reverse diversity programs aimed at addressing historical oppression of minorities.

The administration claims protests against Israel's war in Gaza that swept across US college campuses last year were rife with anti-Semitism.

Harvard lawsuit 

Many US universities, including Harvard, cracked down on the protests over the allegations at the time.

Several top institutions, including Columbia University, have also bowed to demands from the Trump administration, which claims that the educational elite is too left-wing.

In the case of Harvard, the White House is seeking unprecedented levels of government control over admissions and hiring practices at the country's oldest and wealthiest university.

But Harvard rejected the government's demands, prompting the Trump administration last week to order the freezing of $2.2 billion in federal funding to the institution.

In its lawsuit, Harvard calls for the freezing of funds and conditions imposed on federal grants to be declared unlawful, as well as for the Trump administration to pay the institution's costs.

The Department of Homeland Security has also threatened Harvard's ability to enroll international students unless it turns over records on visa holders' "illegal and violent activities."

International students made up 27.2 per cent of Harvard's enrollment this academic year, according to its website.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis's funeral will be held on Saturday, the Vatican announced Tuesday, as world leaders from US President Donald Trump to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskysaid they would attend to honour the Catholic leader.

The Argentine pontiff, 88, died on Monday from a stroke, less than a month after returning home from five weeks in hospital battling double pneumonia.

His funeral, which is expected to draw huge crowds, will take place at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Saturday in the square in front of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

Francis's coffin -- which he previously ordered should be of wood and zinc -- will then be taken inside the church and from there to the Rome basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial.

The date was set by the first so-called "general congregation" of cardinals on Tuesday morning, which kicked off a centuries-old process that culminates in the election of a new pontiff within three weeks.

Earlier, the Vatican published the first images of the pontiff in his open coffin, ahead of its transfer to St Peter's Basilica on Wednesday at 9:00 am (0700 GMT), to lie in state.

The pope's body was photographed during a service Monday evening in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where he lived during his 12-year papacy, and where he died.

Francis was wearing his red papal vestments, a mitre on his head and had a rosary between his fingers.

Tributes have poured in from around the globe for Francis, a liberal reformer who took over following the resignation of German theologian Benedict XVI in 2013.

His home country, Argentina, prepared for a week of national mourning while India began three days of state mourning on Tuesday -- a rare honour for a foreign religious leader in the world's most populous nation.

Heads of state and royalty are expected for his funeral, with Trump and France's Emmanuel Macron the first to announce they would attend even before a date was confirmed.

On Tuesday, a source at the Ukrainian presidency told AFP that Zelensky, too, would come to Rome.

Cardinals of all ages are invited to the congregations, although only those under the age of 80 are eligible to vote for a new pope in the conclave.

The conclave should begin no less than 15 and no more than 20 days after the death of the pope.

Simple tomb 

The pope's body was moved into the Santa Marta chapel on Monday evening, and his apartment formally sealed, the Vatican said.

Francis, who wore plain robes and eschewed the luxury of his predecessors, has opted for a simple tomb, unadorned except for his name in Latin, Franciscus, according to his will released Monday.

In chosing to be buried in Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore basilica, he will become the first pope in more than 100 years to be laid to rest outside the Vatican.

His death certificate released by the Vatican said Francis died of a stroke, causing a coma and "irreversible" heart failure.

He had been discharged from Rome's Gemelli hospital on March 23 and ordered to spend at least two months resting.

But Francis, who never took a holiday and delighted in being among his flock, made numerous public appearances in recent days.

He appeared exhausted on Sunday during the Easter celebrations, but nevertheless greeted the crowds in his popemobile in St Peter's Square.

Argentine football great Lionel Messi hailed his compatriot -- himself a huge fan of the beautiful game -- for "making the world a better place".

Eyes of God 

On Monday evening, thousands of faithful, some bringing flowers or candles, flocked to St. Peter's Square at sunset to pray for Francis.

He "tried to get people to understand it doesn't matter your sexual orientation, your race, it doesn't matter in the eyes of God", Mateo Rey, 22, a Mexican student, told AFP.

"I think that's the closest to what Jesus intended."

Born Jorge Bergoglio, Francis was the first pope from the Americas and the first Jesuit to lead the worldwide Catholic Church.

An energetic reformer, he sought to open the Church to everyone and was hugely popular -- but his views also sparked fierce internal opposition.

In 12 years as pope, Francis advocated tirelessly for the defenceof migrants, the environment, and social justice without questioning the Church's positions on abortion or priestly celibacy.

VATICAN CITY — The April 21 death of Pope Francis triggered a period of mourning in the Catholic Church, but also kick-started the race for his successor.

Whether diplomats, theologians, mediators or Vatican insiders, here are 15 cardinals who are among the potential favourites to become the next pope, known as the "papabili", divided by region.

This list however is by no means exhaustive and Francis's successor could well be someone else.

EUROPE

Pietro Parolin (Italy), 70, Vatican Secretary of State

The Vatican's chief diplomat, Parolin has been the number two at the Vatican during nearly all of Francis's papacy.

He is known to many world leaders, having travelled the globe, but also to many inside the Roman Curia, the government of the Holy See.

A member of Francis's Council of Cardinals, an advisory body, Parolin played a key role in the historic 2018 deal between the Holy See and China on the appointment of bishops.

Pierbattista Pizzaballa (Italy), 60, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

Pizzaballa is the top Catholic in the Middle East with an archdiocese encompassing Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Cyprus.

He was made a cardinal in September 2023, shortly before the war broke out between Israel and Hamas.

The Franciscan has appealed for peace from both sides, and at Christmas in 2024 led mass both in Gaza and in Jerusalem.

Matteo Maria Zuppi (Italy), 69, Archbishop of Bologna

Zuppi, a member of the Roman community of Sant'Egidio, has for more than three decades acted as a discreet diplomat for the Vatican including serving as Pope Francis's special peace envoy for Ukraine.

Known for riding his bicycle around Bologna, Zuppi is a popular figure for his decades of work on behalf of the needy. He also advocates for welcoming migrants and gay Catholics into the Church.

He has been president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) since 2022.

Claudio Gugerotti (Italy), 69

A diplomat and polyglot from the Italian city of Verona, Gugerotti is an expert on the Slavic world.

He served as nuncio -- or ambassador of the Holy See -- in several countries including Britain, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Ukraine.

Consulted by Pope Francis on the war between Ukraine and Russia, Gugerotti was named Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches in 2022.

Jean-Marc Aveline (France), Archbishop of Marseille, 66

Born in Algeria, Aveline has spent most of his life in Marseille and is an emblematic figure of the southern French port city.

Considered a close friend of Pope Francis, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Marseille in 2013 and elevated to cardinal in 2022.

The smiling, affable Aveline has advocated for dialogue between religions and cultures, and the defence of migrants -- both central tenets of Pope Francis's papacy.

Anders Arborelius (Sweden), 75, Bishop of Stockholm

Appointed in 2017 as Sweden's first cardinal, Arborelius is a convert to Catholicism in the overwhelmingly Protestant Scandinavian country, home to one of the world's most secularised societies.

He is the first Swedish Catholic bishop since the Protestant Reformation and a staunch defender of Church doctrine, notably opposed to allowing women to be deacons or blessing same-sex couples.

Like Pope Francis, Arborelius advocates welcoming migrants to Europe, including Christians, Catholics and potential converts.

Mario Grech (Malta), 68, Bishop emeritus of Gozo

Grech is the secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, a body that gathers information from local churches on crucial issues for the Church -- whether the place of women or remarried divorced people -- and passes it along to the pope.

He has had to perform a delicate balancing act, following Pope Francis's lead on creating an open, attentive Church while acknowledging the concerns of conservatives.

He has acknowledged the "fraternal dialogue" between Catholics of all levels while assuring traditionalists that the Church is "not a democracy, the Church is hierarchical".

Peter Erdo, 72, Metropolitan Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest

An intellectual and respected expert in canon law, Erdo speaks seven languages, has published more than 25 books, and is recognised for his openness to other religions.

But his ties with the government of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- whose hardline anti-migrant views clash with those of Pope Francis -- have been under scrutiny in the past.

Known for his enthusiasm for evangelism, the cardinal who grew up under Communism is a conservative on such issues as gay marriage and divorcees who remarry.

Jean-Claude Hollerich, 67, Archbishop of Luxembourg

A Jesuit like Pope Francis, Hollerich spent over 20 years in Japan, and is a specialist in European-Asian cultural relations as well as German literature.

Firm on dogma, the theologian is still open to the need for the Church to adapt to societal changes, much like the Argentine pope he was close to and for whom he served as an adviser on the Council of Cardinals.

Hollerich has advocated for the environment and has pushed for laypeople, especially young people, to have more involvement in the Church.

ASIA

Luis Antonio Tagle (Philippines), 67, Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Manila

Tagle, Asia's frontrunner for the papacy, is a charismatic moderate who has not been afraid to criticise the Church for its shortcomings, including over sexual abuse of minors.

Fluent in English, he is an eloquent speaker with self-deprecating humour and, like Francis, is a leading advocate for the poor, migrants and marginalised people.

Nicknamed "Chito", he was made a cardinal by Benedict XVI in 2012 and had already been considered a candidate for pope in the 2013 conclave in which Francis was elected.

Charles Maung Bo (Myanmar), 76, Archbishop of Yangon

President of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, Maung Bo was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015, his country's first and only cardinal.

Bo has called for dialogue and reconciliation in conflict-ridden Myanmar, and after the military coup of 2021 appealed to opposition protesters to remain non-violent.

He has defended the persecuted mainly Muslim Rohingya, calling them victims of "ethnic cleansing", and spoken out against human trafficking uprooting the lives of many young Burmese.

AFRICA

Peter Turkson (Ghana), 76, Archbishop emeritus of Cape Coast

One of the Church's most influential cardinals from Africa, Turkson is often mentioned as a possible first black pope -- although he said in a 2010 he didn't want the job, insisting any such pope would "have a rough time".

He serves as the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Born into a humble family of 10 children, Turkson speaks six languages and has visited the World Economic Forum in Davos multiple times to convince business leaders of the perils of trickle-down economics.

Fridolin Ambongo Besungu (Democratic Republic of Congo), 65, Archbishop of Kinshasa

Ambongo is the only cardinal from Africa on Pope Francis's Council of Cardinals, the advisory committee to the pontiff.

As president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, he signed a letter in January 2024 voicing opposition to the Vatican's declaration allowing priests to carry out non-liturgical blessings of same-sex unions.

In a 2023 interview, Ambongo proclaimed that "Africa is the future of the Church, it's obvious".

AMERICAS

Robert Francis Prevost (United States), 69, Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Chiclayo

A native of Chicago, Prevost is the prefect of the powerful Dicastery for Bishops, which is charged with advsing the pope on appointments of new bishops.

He spent years as a missionary in Peru and is the Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Chiclayo in that South American country.

Made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023, he is also the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Timothy Dolan (United States), 75, Archbishop of New York

A jovial, ruddy-faced extrovert with Irish-American roots, Dolan is a theological conservative, fiercely opposed to abortion.

The former archbishop of Milwaukee, he oversaw the fallout from a major sexual abuse scandal in the diocese.

In New York, amid shrinking Church membership, Dolan has reached out to embrace the growing Hispanic population, which is predominantly Catholic.