Four Indian Cardinals among global electors tasked with electing next Pope

Guwahati, April 22: Four Indian Cardinals will take part in the papal conclave to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church, following the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday.

Of the six Indian Cardinals currently in the College of Cardinals, only four are eligible to vote. Under Vatican rules, Cardinals above the age of 80 cannot participate in the election of a new Pope.

Cardinals Baselios Cleemis, Anthony Poola, Filipe Neri Ferrao, and George Koovakad will represent India among the 135 voting members in the conclave, part of a wider College of 252 Cardinals.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias and Cardinal George Alencherry, both of whom turned 80 this April, are excluded from voting.

Cardinal Cleemis, who was appointed to the College in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI, had also participated in the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis.

Most recently, he was awarded the C. Kesavan Award in 2023 by the Kerala government for his work in uplifting the poor.

Cardinal Poola, the first Dalit Archbishop to become a Cardinal, was elevated by Pope Francis in 2022.

In earlier interviews, he had spoken of his humble beginnings and how support from missionaries enabled him to continue his education—an experience that fuels his mission to support underprivileged children.

Goa’s Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao, proclaimed Cardinal in 2022, is the president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India and also holds the honorary title of Bishop of Santa Maria in Via.

Cardinal Koovakad, among the most recent additions to the College, was appointed in 2024. He has served in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State and was involved in the logistical planning of papal visits.

The conclave, to be held in the Sistine Chapel, will see cardinal electors sequestered from the outside world until a new Pope is chosen.

The process is steeped in tradition - four rounds of secret balloting take place each day until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority.

Black smoke rising from the Chapel’s chimney signals an inconclusive vote, while white smoke indicates the election of a new pontiff.

Meanwhile, India has declared a three-day mourning in honour of Pope Francis, to be observed till April 23, and on the day of the funeral, which is scheduled for Saturday at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome—a site personally significant to the late pontiff.

The Church is currently observing the Novendiale, a nine-day mourning period steeped in tradition, during which prayers are offered, and the faithful gather to reflect on the life and legacy of the deceased Pope.

- With inputs from news agencies