Could an American Pope be waiting on the wings? Experts weigh

With more than 61 million Catholics and the second highest number of cardinals after Italy, the United States is prepared for the question of whether an American pontiff is possible following the death of Pope Francis on Monday.

Francis, a Jesuit from Argentina who died in the early hours of Monday at age 88, after 12 years as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, was the first non -European Pope in almost 1,300 years.

Tune in ABC at 10 pm et on Tuesday for the ABC news special, “Francis: The People’s Pope”. Also available to transmit in Hulu and Disney+ on Wednesday.

The United States has 17 cardinals, 10 of which are eligible to vote in the election of the next Pope, according to the Vatican. The country with most cardinals is Italy, which is 51, including 17 eligible to vote for the next pontiff, According to the Vatican.

The United States has 61.9 million Catholics, representing approximately 19% of the total population, according to the most recent American religion census Carried out in 2020 by the Association of Statistics of American religious bodies.

Although the United States has one of the world’s largest Catholic populations, some experts told ABC News that the probability that the next pontiff comes from the United States is a remote possibility.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co -director of Bishopaccountability.org, a surveillance group that tracks the cases of child abuse of the clergy in the Catholic Church around the world, told ABC News that if an American were selected as Pope, it could be perceived as “overwhelming”, given the global domain of the United States already.

“If the Catholic Church was also directed by an American, the global domain of the United States would be simply generalized and overwhelming,” said Barrett Doyle.

Technically, any man baptized in the Catholic Church can become Pope, according to the Vatican. But the potatoes are usually chosen from the Cardinals College. Only cardinals under 80 can participate in the choice of a Pope.

Cristina Traza, a professor of religious studies at Fordham University, told ABC News that several US cardinals have been floated as possible Francis successors.

“I think it is unlikely because the American church is seen as controversy at this time,” Traina said about the perspective of an American being chosen as the next Pope. “So, I think it is much more likely to go to a European or someone from the southern global or Asia.”

However, Traina said that Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, since 2017, has become a possible candidate.

Tobin, 73, was appointed by Pope Francis to the Cardinals College in 2016 to serve as Archbishop of Indianapolis, after Pope Benedict XVI appointed him in 2012, according to His biography on the website of the New Jersey Catholic Conference.

Tobin previously served in several positions in the Catholic Church, including the parish of St. Alphonsus in Chicago and general consultants of the Community of Rome and general general of Redeemer in Rome, according to his biography.

In a statement issued on Monday about the death of Pope Francis, Tobin said: “He was a man of deep faith, deep humility, unwavering hope: a servant whose tireless called to take care of the poor and marginalized will continue to inspire the church for the coming generations.”

Another American cardinal who has been mentioned as a possible successor of Francis is Cardinal Robert Prevost. The Premost born in Chicago, 69, was the only American cardinal included in a list of photos of the main ones for Pope, also known as “Papabiles”, compiled after Francis’s death By Associated Press.

Since 2023, Prevost has held the position in the Vatican as a prefect of the Dicastery for the bishops, in charge of the investigation of nominations for bishops around the world, according to their profile on the website of the Vatican press office. Francis brought Prevost to work in the Vatican after appointing him for the first time in 2014 to serve as a bishop of Chiclayo, Peru. Prevost is also president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Dr. Miles Patten, historian of the Catholic Church and professor of History of the University of Oxford in England, also told ABC News that the possibility of an American Pope this time is “very unlikely.”

Patten said that Pope Francis had a history of confrontation with the Trump administration, returning to Trump’s first mandate in office, when he criticized the construction of the US-Mexico border wall, saying: “A person who thinks of building walls, wherever they are and not build bridges, is not a Christian.”

In Public letter For the Catholic bishops of the United States. In February, Pope Francis described the repression of mass deportation ordered by the administration of President Donald Trump as a “great crisis.”

“Traditionally there has been very caution about an Angulasfera Pope,” said Patten. “I should not think that current circumstances change that, especially now with tensions between the Vatican and the Trump administration.”

Trump said Monday that he and the first lady Melania Trump plan to travel to Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.

“I just signed an executive order that placed the flags of our country, all of them, all federal flags and state flags, halfhless in honor of Pope Francis,” Trump said in the White House. “Then, he was a good man. He worked hard. He loved the world.”