Pope Leo approves Tagle as first Asian dean of Catholic cardinals

Former Manila archbishop Tagle has been a senior Vatican official since 2020 and was a papal contender in 2025

Pope Leo approved Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle's election as the dean of the Catholic ​Church's college of cardinals, the Vatican said on Friday, ‌in the first selection of an Asian cleric to lead the elite group that one day will choose Leo's successor.

A former archbishop ​of Manila, Tagle has served as a senior Vatican ​official since 2020. He was widely seen as a likely ⁠papal candidate in the May 2025 conclave that elected ​Leo to lead the Church after the death of the ​late Pope Francis.

Tagle, 69, replaces Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who is 92 and retiring from the role.

Leo, 71, is relatively young for ​a pope, plays sports and is in good health.

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The dean ​of the college of cardinals is considered the "first among equals" among the ‌Church's ⁠highest-ranking clerics and is responsible for taking charge of the secretive conclave process, held in the Sistine Chapel, once a pope dies or resigns.

The dean, elected by his peers and ​approved by ​the pope, serves ⁠a five-year term that can be renewed once, according to Church law. The role has ​mostly been filled by Europeans, but was ​held by ⁠the late Beninese Cardinal Bernardin Gantin from 1993-2002.

Tagle was seen as a close ally of Pope Francis and is known ⁠for an ​infectious smile and is sometimes called ​by his diminutive nickname "Chito". He leads the Vatican's Dicastery for Evangelization, effectively the ​Church's missionary arm.