Which cardinals are seen as contenders to be the next pope?

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A popular saying in Vatican circles is that if you “enter a conclave as pope, you leave as a cardinal.”

It implies the sacred and secretive process is no popularity contest or campaign, but rather the divinely inspired election of Christ’s Vicar on Earth by the princes of the church.

Still, there are always front-runners, known as “papabile,” who have at least some of the qualities considered necessary to be pope — much like those depicted in last year's Oscar-nominated film “Conclave.”

Any baptized Catholic male is eligible, though only cardinals have been selected since 1378. The winner must receive at least two-thirds of the vote from those cardinals under age 80 and thus eligible to participate. Pope Francis, who died Monday, appointed the vast majority of electors, often tapping men who share his pastoral priorities, which suggests continuity rather than rupture.

Anyone trying to handicap the outcome should remember that Jorge Mario Bergoglio was considered too old to be elected pope in 2013 at age 76, and that Karol Wojtyla wasn’t on any front-runner lists going into the 1978 conclave that elected him Pope John Paul II.

Some possible candidates:

Erdo, 72, the archbishop of Budapest and primate of Hungary, was twice elected head of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences, in 2005 and 2011, suggesting he enjoys the esteem of European cardinals who make up the biggest voting bloc of electors. In that capacity, Erdo got to know many African cardinals because the council hosts regular sessions with African bishops’ conferences. Erdo had even more exposure when he helped organize Francis’ 2014 and 2015 Vatican meetings on the family and delivered key speeches, as well as during papal visits to Budapest in 2021 and 2023.

Marx, 71, the archbishop of Munich and Freising, was chosen by Francis as a key adviser in 2013. Marx later was named to head the council overseeing Vatican finances during reforms and belt-tightening. The former president of the German bishops’ conference was a strong proponent of the controversial “synodal path” process of dialogue in the German church that began in 2020 as a response to the clergy sexual abuse scandal there. As a result, he is viewed with skepticism by conservatives who considered the process a threat to church unity, given it involved debating issues such as celibacy, homosexuality and women’s ordination. Marx made headlines in 2021 when he dramatically offered to resign as archbishop to atone for the German church’s dreadful abuse record, but Francis quickly rejected the resignation and told him to stay.

Ouellet, 80, of Canada, led the Vatican’s influential bishops office for over a decade, overseeing the key clearinghouse for potential candidates to head dioceses around the world. Francis kept Ouellet in the job until 2023, even though he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, and thus helped select the more doctrinaire bishops preferred by the German pontiff. Considered more of a conservative than Francis, Ouellet still selected pastorally minded bishops to reflect Francis’ belief that bishops should “smell like the sheep” of their flock. Ouellet defended priestly celibacy for the Latin Rite church and upheld the ban on women’s ordination but called for women to have a greater role in church governance. He has good contacts with the Latin American church, having headed the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for Latin America for over a decade. Since 2019, his office has taken charge of investigating bishops accused of covering up for predator priests, a job that would have made him no friends among those sanctioned but also could have given him lots of otherwise confidential and possibly compromising information about fellow cardinals.

Parolin, 70, of Italy, has been Francis’ secretary of state since 2014 and is considered one of the main contenders to be pope, given his prominence in the Catholic hierarchy. The veteran diplomat oversaw the Holy See’s controversial deal with China over bishop nominations and was involved -- but not charged -- in the Vatican’s botched investment in a London real estate venture that led to a 2021 trial of another cardinal and nine others. A former ambassador to Venezuela, Parolin knows the Latin American church well. He would be seen as someone who would continue in Francis’ tradition but as a more sober and timid diplomatic insider, returning an Italian to the papacy after three successive outsiders: St. John Paul II (Poland); Benedict (Germany) and Francis (Argentina). But while Parolin has managed the Vatican bureaucracy, he has no real pastoral experience. His ties to the London scandal, in which his office lost tens of millions of dollars to bad deals and shady businessmen, could count against him.

The idea of an American pope has long been taboo, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the United States. But the Chicago-born Prevost, 69, could be a first. He has extensive experience in Peru, first as a missionary and then an archbishop, and he is currently prefect of the Vatican’s powerful dicastery for bishops, in charge of vetting nominations for bishops around the world. Francis clearly had an eye on him for years and sent him to run the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014. He held that position until 2023, when Francis brought him to Rome for his current role. Prevost is also president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, a job that keeps him in regular contact with the Catholic hierarchy in the part of the world that still counts the most Catholics. In addition to his nationality, Prevost’s comparative youth could count against him if his brother cardinals don’t want to commit to a pope who might reign for another two decades.

Sarah, 79, of Guinea, the retired head of the Vatican’s liturgy office, was long considered the best hope for an African pope. Beloved by conservatives, Sarah would signal a return to the doctrinaire and liturgically minded papacies of John Paul II and Benedict. Sarah, who had previously headed the Vatican’s charity office Cor Unum, clashed on several occasions with Francis, none more seriously than when he and Benedict co-authored a book advocating the “necessity” of continued celibacy for Latin Rite priests. The book came out as Francis was weighing whether to allow married priests in the Amazon to address a priest shortage there. The implication was that Sarah had manipulated Benedict into lending his name and moral authority to a book that had all the appearances of being a counterweight to Francis' own teaching. Francis dismissed Benedict’s secretary and several months later retired Sarah after he turned 75. Even Sarah’s supporters lamented the episode hurt his papal chances.

Schoenborn, 80, the archbishop of Vienna, Austria, was a student of Benedict's, and thus on paper seems to have the doctrinaire academic chops to appeal to conservatives. However, he became associated with one of Francis’ most controversial moves by defending his outreach to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics as an “organic development of doctrine,” not the rupture that some conservatives contended. Schoenborn’s parents divorced when he was a teen, so the issue is personal. He also took heat from the Vatican when he criticized its past refusal to sanction high-ranking sexual abusers, including his predecessor as archbishop of Vienna. Schoenborn has expressed support for civil unions and women as deacons, and was instrumental in editing the 1992 update of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the handbook of the church’s teaching that Benedict had spearheaded when he headed the Vatican’s doctrine office.

Tagle, 67, of the Philippines, would appear to be Francis’ pick for the first Asian pope. Francis brought the popular archbishop of Manila to Rome to head the Vatican’s missionary evangelization office, which serves the needs of the Catholic Church in much of Asia and Africa. His role took on greater weight when Francis reformed the Vatican bureaucracy and raised the importance of his evangelization office. Tagle often cites his Chinese lineage – his maternal grandmother was part of a Chinese family that moved to the Philippines -- and he is known for becoming emotional when discussing his childhood. Though he has pastoral, Vatican and management experience -- he headed the Vatican’s Caritas Internationalis federation of charity groups before coming to Rome permanently -- Tagle would be on the young side to be elected pope for life, with cardinals perhaps preferring an older candidate whose papacy would be more limited.

Zuppi, 69, the archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian bishops conference, elected in 2022, is closely affiliated with the Sant’Egidio Community, a Rome-based Catholic charity that was influential under Francis, particularly in interfaith dialogue. Zuppi was part of Sant’Egidio’s team that helped negotiate the end of Mozambique’s civil war in the 1990s and was named Francis' peace envoy for Russia's war in Ukraine. Francis made him a cardinal in 2019 and later made clear he wanted him in charge of Italy’s bishops, a sign of his admiration for the prelate who, like Francis, is known as a “street priest.” In another sign of his progressive leanings and closeness to Francis, Zuppi wrote the introduction to the Italian edition of “Building a Bridge,” by the Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit, about the church’s need to improve its outreach to the LGBTQ+ community. Zuppi would be a candidate in Francis’ tradition of ministering to those on the margins, although his relative youth would count against him for cardinals seeking a short papacy. His family had strong institutional ties: Zuppi’s father worked for the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, and his mother was the niece of Cardinal Carlo Confalonieri, dean of the College of Cardinals in the 1960s and 1970s.

This combination of photos shows, top row from left, Cardinal Peter Erdo, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, middle row from left, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Robert Prevost, Cardinal Robert Sarah, and bottom row from left, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, Cardinal Luis Tagle and Cardinal Matteo Zuppi. (AP Photo)

FILE - Newly elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, right, receives his biretta from Pope Francis as he is elevated in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, file)

FILE - New Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, poses for a photo at the end of the consistory where Pope Francis elevated 21 new cardinals in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, file)

FILE - Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn attends a celebration at the St. Bartholomew church at the Tiberine Island in Rome, Monday, March 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, File)

FILE - Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, of Austria, attends a vespers celebration in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

FILE - Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn attends a press conference to present the post-synodal apostolic exhortation ' Amoris Laetitia ' (The Joy of Love), at the Vatican, Friday, April 8, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, left, talks with Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as he arrives for the presentation of his book Divine Love Made Flesh, in Rome, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, arrives for the presentation of Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke's book Divine Love Made Flesh, in Rome, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Cardinal Matteo Zuppi poses for photographers at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Cardinal Matteo Zuppi delivers his address opening the works of the 77th General Assembly of the Italian Bishops Conference at the Vatican, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

FILE - Pope Francis, left, speaks to Archbishop Matteo Maria Zuppi during his visit to Bologna, Italy, Oct. 1, 2017. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool photo via AP, file)

FILE - Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the CEI (Italian Conference of Bishops) speaks during a press conference at The Vatican, Thursday, May 25, 2023, at the end of the 77th CEI's general assembly. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, File)

FILE - Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, left, holds on to his umbrella next to Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as they walk in St. Peter's Square after attending a cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet attends a Mass inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, on March 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet leaves after a meeting at the Vatican, Monday March 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

FILE - Pope Francis, left, and Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet arrive at the opening of a 3-day Symposium on Vocations in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

FILE - Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet responds to media at a news conference about his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI as Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, Wednesday, June 30, 2010 in Quebec City, Canada. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jacques Boissinot, File)

FILE - Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019. Parolin has been Francis’ secretary of state since 2014. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

FILE - Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin speaks at the COP26 Summit, in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. (Daniel Leal Olivas /Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin attends a ceremony where the Colosseum is lit up in red to draw attention to the persecution of Christians around the world, in Rome, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

FILE - Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin smiles as he is welcomed by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for a meeting at the Bellevue palace in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, June 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, file)

FILE - Munich and Freising Archbishop Reinhard Marx presents his new book 'The Capital' in Munich, southern Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

FILE - Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising, gives a statement to the press in the courtyard of his residence in Munich, Friday, June 4, 2021. (Peter Kneffel/dpa via AP, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 file photo Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the archbishop of Munich and Freising, leaves at the end of a media briefing during a four-day sex abuse summit called by Pope Francis in Rome. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, file)

FILE - German Cardinal Reinhard Marx attends a press conference by Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi at the Vatican's press center, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, left, shows Pope Francis how to give the popular hand sign for "I love you" at the Mall of Asia arena in Manila, Philippines, Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. (AP Photo/Wally Santana, File)

FILE - Pope Francis greets Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila, second from right, and group of migrants, during his weekly general audience, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 5, 2015 file photo, Pope Francis is greeted by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, right, upon his arrival at the opening session of a two-week bishops' meeting on family issues, at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

FILE - President of Caritas Internationalis Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle makes a point during a press conference announcing the launch of a campaign on the plight of migrants to counteract mounting anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S., Europe and beyond, at the Vatican press center, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Pope Francis, left, talks with Cardinal Peter Erdo of Hungary as arrives for the afternoon session of a two-week synod on family issues at the Vatican, Monday, Oct. 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

FILE - Cardinal Peter Erdo officiates the Easter Vigil ceremony at the St Stephen's Basilica of Budapest for Easter Vigil services on Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos, File)

FILE - Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo is interviewed by The Associated Press, in Budapest, on Thursday, April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos, file)

HOUSTON (AP) — The Golden State Warriors struggled on both ends of the court Wednesday night to squander a chance to close out their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.

Things got away from them quickly in the 131-116 loss in Game 5. Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and the rest of Golden State’s starters spent most of the second half watching from the bench after coach Steve Kerr inserted his reserves with about five minutes left in the third quarter and Houston up by 29.

Kerr shouldered the blame for the poor performance that allowed Houston to move the best-of-seven series to 3-2.

“I didn’t have them ready to play, clearly,” he said. “We committed three fouls in the first two minutes of the game and I think they were 13 for 13 from the line after the first quarter.

“We can’t come out with that lack of defensive focus and energy and expect to beat a great team on their home floor in a close-out game,” he continued. “They took it to us, they were awesome tonight and we’ve got to be better.”

He said Houston’s success on offense early made it difficult for Golden State to get anything going.

“We were out of sorts from the beginning, especially defensively, and I think that carried over to our offense,” he said. “It’s hard to play offensively when you’re taking the ball out of the net every single play.”

It was clear to Kerr at halftime that this was not going to be the Warriors' night.

“I think at halftime, their effective field goal percentage was 95%,” he said. “I’ve never seen that in my life. You’re not winning that game.”

Butler managed just eight points in 25 minutes on 2-of-10 shooting after combining for 52 points in the two full games he’d played in this series.

Curry was 4 of 12 for 13 points after scoring more than 30 points in two of the first four games to move the Warriors within a game of clinching the series.

Curry had his right thumb wrapped during the game and had a bag of ice taped on it afterward. It appeared to be swollen in a picture circulating online of him walking to the team plane.

Asked about the state of his thumb, he answered with one word.

“Cold,” he said.

When pressed, he provided a few more details.

“I don’t even know how to answer it,” he said. “Something you are dealing with and keep it moving as long as I can play. I’ve got it wrapped for a reason.”

He was emphatic when asked if it was impacting his game.

“No,” he said. “None. No.”

Houston’s Dillon Brooks was asked about the Golden State broadcast team suggesting that he’s targeting Curry’s thumb by swiping at it.

“If I had an injured ankle, I would attack that ankle every single time,” he said. “So, whatever they’re saying on the broadcast, they can keep saying it.”

Kerr praised his backups for bringing an energy the team will need to rediscover in Game 6, which is Friday night in San Francisco.

Reserve Moses Moody led the Warriors with 25 points. Golden State’s 76 bench points were the most in a playoff game for the franchise since 1970-71, when starters began being tracked.

“Houston was great and they took it to us right away,” Kerr said. “But like I said, it was an important finish.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr instructs his players in Game 5 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs against Houston Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Dillon Brooks (9) goes up to defend against a 3-point shot by Stephen Curry (30) in the first half as the Golden State Warriors played the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Jimmy Butler (10) passes to a teammate from under the basket in the first half as the Golden State Warriors played the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Stephen Curry (30) walks off the court after the Golden State Warriors lost to the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Brandin Podziemksi (2), Jimmy Butler (10) and Stephen Curry (30) react on the bench in the final seconds of the second half as the Golden State Warriors played the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)