Four out of every ten cardinals voting in the conclave are European. Including Italy, Europe remains the continent with the most cardinals.
The oldest cardinal in the conclave is from Spain: Carlos Osoro, the emeritus archbishop of Madrid, who is 79 years old. He turns 80 on May 16, so he will enter the Sistine Chapel just at the threshold for being eligible to vote. On the other hand, also from Madrid, is José Cobo, one of the youngest, at 59 years old.
Continuing with the younger cardinals, there are two more who are also under 60. They were close to Pope Francis and come from Europe’s peripheries.
They are Bustillo from Corsica — a place often called the "oasis" of Catholics in France — and Américo Aguiar. A journalist and former politician, he was in charge of organizing World Youth Day in Lisbon. He now leads a small Portuguese diocese.
Many Europeans also hold high-ranking positions in the Roman Curia. For example, Cardinals Krajewski from Poland and Tolentino de Mendonça from Portugal serve as prefects of dicasteries.
Among the more senior cardinals, the German Cardinal Müller stands out. He is the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and has, on occasion, openly criticized Pope Francis’s leadership.
Another veteran cardinal is Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Budapest. His name has been frequently mentioned in recent weeks.
From Sweden comes Cardinal Arborelius, Archbishop of Stockholm. He was the first Swedish bishop since the Protestant Reformation. His family was Lutheran, and he converted to Catholicism at age 20 to become a priest. His diocese is part of Europe’s periphery, with only 2% of the Swedish population being Catholic.
From France, Cardinal Aveline of Marseille has gained prominence in recent years. He is deeply involved in social issues such as migration in the Mediterranean — a topic that resonates with him personally, as his own family were also migrants.
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