Ciao, 'Chito': the man who could be Asia's first pope

Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle, who likes to be called by his nickname, has a gift of connecting with people that may sway enough voters in today’s conclave, writes Joshua McElwee

- Joshua McElwee

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle shares more than just a warm smile and infectious laugh with Pope Francis.

Like the late Argentinian pontiff, Tagle hails from outside Europe’s traditional Catholic power base, bringing a fresh perspective to the Vatican. As cardinals convene today for the secret conclave to elect the next pope, some believe Tagle’s similarities to Francis could position him as a frontrunner.

According to the bookmakers, Tagle is currently the second favourite to be the next pope, at odds of 5-2, just behind Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state.

Tagle, who looks younger than his 67 years and likes to be called by his diminutive nickname “Chito”, has headed the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, effectively the Church’s missionary arm, for the past five years. That position gave him enormous influence over national churches in developing countries.

While 67 is a sunset age in many organisations, it is considered young in the Vatican because few cardinals want a very long pontificate.

Choosing Tagle could signal a clear intention to continue the progressive path of Francis, embracing a more open and modern Church. His potential election would indicate a rejection of candidates who might reverse some of Francis’s reforms, reassuring the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics of the Church’s continued trajectory.

It would also mean his fellow cardinals had shrugged off question marks over his management abilities.

“He would represent a continuity of what Pope Francis has been doing,” said Rev Emmanuel Alfonso, a former student of Tagle’s who has known him for decades. “He’s really like Pope Francis in terms of his love for the poor, his approachability and so on.”

Tagle, the former archbishop of Manila, would be the first pope from what is now considered Asia, although in the early Church some popes hailed from what is now called the Middle East, technically part of Asia.