As the world said goodbye to His Holiness Pope Francis at his funeral in Rome today (Saturday), machinations are already underway in the background to decide who will become his successor. Several key players are emerging as potential candidates who could be voted for during the secretive Conclave ceremony due to take place next month. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote.
During the ancient ritual more than 130 Catholic cardinals will cast their votes for who they think should become the next head of the Holy See. According to betting firm William Hill, cardinal Pietro Parolin is the early favourite with odds of 9/4.
Next among the religious runners and riders is Luis Antonio Tagle priced at 3/1, if successful he would also become the first pontiff of Asian heritage.
Scroll down for the full list of cardinals and odds...
Spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps, said: “There’s already plenty of speculation on who the Vatican will announce as the next Pope to follow Pope Francis, and currently we make the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, our favourite at 9/4.
“Luis Antonio Tagle is second in our market at 3/1 and would become the first Asian Pope in history, while Matteo Zuppi and Peter Turkson are both priced at 6/1.”
There are just a handful of Catholic cardinals across the UK and Ireland, some of whom are expected to cast a vote for the next pope. Technically, any baptised Catholic man is eligible to become the next pontiff, but for centuries only cardinals have been chosen.
Both cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, 79, who is from London, and Archbishop of Westminster cardinal Vincent Nichols, 79, appeared to rule themselves out of the papal election contest.
This week cardinal Nichols told reporters he was "too old, not capable", while cardinal Radcliffe said he believed the Holy Spirit was "far too wise to even think of me (as pope) for the shortest moment".
Cardinal Arthur Roche, 75, from West Yorkshire, is the youngest of the UK and Ireland's cardinals. He is based in Rome and has been a key adviser to Pope Francis in recent years.
Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald, from Birmingham, will turn 88 in August, meaning he will be unable to vote for a new pope, and cardinal Sean Brady, Ireland's only Catholic cardinal, will turn 86 this summer and so is also unable to vote due to his age.
Scotland currently has no Catholic cardinals. It is not thought that any of the UK or Irish cardinals are among the favourites expected to succeed Pope Francis.
At the time of writing, William Hill had odds on the following cardinals to be the next Pope.
Pietro Parolin – 9/4
Luis Antonio Tagle – 3/1
Peter Turkson – 6/1
Matteo Zuppi – 6/1
Robert Sarah – 8/1
Pierbattista Pizzaballa – 8/1
Peter Erdo – 10/1
Bar – 16/1
