A number of men had been named as potential successors (papabili

Papabile

Papabile is an unofficial Italian term first coined by Vaticanologists and now used internationally in many languages to describe a cardinal of whom it is thought likely or possible that he will be elected pope. A literal English translation would be "popeable" or "one who might become pope".In...

) to Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

, who died on April 2, 2005, before the 2005 conclave

Papal conclave, 2005

The Papal conclave of 2005 was convened as a result of the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. After his death, the cardinals who were in Rome met and set a date for the beginning of the conclave to elect John Paul's successor. The conclave began on 18 April 2005 and ended on the following...

. On April 19, 2005, the conclave selected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

.

In the chart below, lime indicates the elected Pope, and gray indicates cardinals who, since then, have either died or turned 80 and hence will be ineligible to vote in any coming conclaves which decreases or eliminates their chances of being elected Pope.

Surname	Nation	Rank	Office(s)	Age as of April 2005	Elevated
Agnelo	Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Salvador da Bahia	71	2001
Antonelli	Italy	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Florence	68	2003
Arinze	Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...	Cardinal Priest now Cardinal Bishop	last Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches and also some technical matters relating to the...	72	1985
Bergoglio	Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...	68	2001
Bertone	Italy	Cardinal Priest (now Bishop)	Archbishop of Genoa Genoa Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....	70	2003
Cipriani Thorne	Peru Peru Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Lima Lima Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...	61	2001
Dias	India	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...  (Bombay)	69	2001
Errázuriz Ossa	Chile Chile Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Santiago Santiago, Chile Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...	71	2001
George	United States	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Chicago Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago was established as a diocese in 1843 and as an Archdiocese in 1880. It serves more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties in Northeastern Illinois, a geographic area of 1,411 square miles. The Archdiocese is divided into six vicariates and 31 deaneries...	68	1998
Hummes Cláudio Hummes Cláudio Hummes, OFM is a Brazilian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy in the Roman Curia , having previously served as Archbishop of Fortaleza from 1996 to 1998 and archbishop of São Paulo from 1998 to 2006...	Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of São Paulo São Paulo São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...	70	2001
Husar	Ukraine Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...	Cardinal Priest	Ukrainian Rite Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...  Major-Archbishop of Lviv Lviv Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...	72	2001
Kasper	Germany	Cardinal Deacon  now Cardinal Priest	last President, Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity	72	2001
López Trujillo Alfonso López Trujillo Alfonso López Trujillo was a Colombian Cardinal Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church and president of the Pontifical Council for the Family.-Youth:...	Colombia Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...	Cardinal Bishop	last President, Pontifical Council for the Family	69	1983
Martini Carlo Maria Martini Carlo Maria Martini, SJ is an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2002, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983.-Early life and education:...	Italy	Cardinal Priest	retired Archbishop of Milan	78	1983
Murphy-O'Connor	England & Wales	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Westminster Archbishop of Westminster The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the Metropolitan of the Province of Westminster and, as a matter of custom, is elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and therefore de facto spokesman...	72	2001
O'Brien Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien is a Scottish Cardinal and the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh of the Roman Catholic Church. O'Brien is currently the only living Cardinal from Scotland....	Scotland	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh	67	2003
Ortega y Alamino	Cuba Cuba The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Havana Havana Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...	68	1994
Ouellet	Canada	Cardinal Priest	then Archbishop of Québec	60	2003
Pell George Pell George Pell AC is an Australian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the eighth and current Archbishop of Sydney, serving since 2001. He previously served as auxiliary bishop and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Melbourne...	Australia	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Sydney	63	2003
Poletto	Italy	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Turin Turin Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...	72	2001
Policarpo	Portugal	Cardinal Priest	Patriarch of Lisbon Patriarch of Lisbon The Patriarch of Lisbon is an honorary title possessed by the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Lisbon.The first patriarch of Lisbon was D. Tomás de Almeida, who was appointed in 1716 by Pope Clement XI...	69	2001
Ratzinger Pope Benedict XVI Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...	Germany	Cardinal Bishop	Dean of the College of Cardinals Dean of the College of Cardinals The Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals is the president of the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, and as such always holds the rank of Cardinal Bishop. The Dean is not necessarily the longest-serving member of the whole College... ; last Prefect, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...  - elected Pope Pope The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...  Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...  on April 19, 2005	78	1977
Re	Italy	Cardinal Bishop	last Prefect, Congregation for Bishops Congregation for Bishops The Congregation for Bishops is the congregation of the Roman Curia which oversees the selection of new bishops that are not in mission territories or those areas that come under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches who deal with the Eastern Catholics, pending papal...	71	2001
Rivera Carrera	Mexico	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Mexico City	62	1998
Rodríguez Maradiaga	Honduras Honduras Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...	62	2001
Schönborn	Austria	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Vienna Vienna Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...	60	1995
Scola	Italy	Cardinal Priest	Patriarch of Venice Patriarch of Venice The Patriarch of Venice is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice. The bishop is one of the few Patriarchs in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church...	63	2003
Sepe	Italy	Cardinal Deacon now Cardinal Priest	last Prefect, Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for missionary work and related activities...	61	2001
Sodano Angelo Sodano Angelo Sodano is an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current Dean of the College of Cardinals and former Vatican Secretary of State, having held that post from 1990 to 2006, under both popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI...	Italy	Cardinal Bishop	Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals; last Cardinal Secretary of State Cardinal Secretary of State The Cardinal Secretary of State—officially Secretary of State of His Holiness The Pope—presides over the Holy See, usually known as the "Vatican", Secretariat of State, which is the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia...	77	1991
Szoka	United States	Cardinal Priest	last President, Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State is the legislative body of Vatican City...	77	1988
Tettamanzi	Italy	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Milan	71	1998
Turcotte	Canada	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Montreal	68	1994
Vlk	Czech Republic	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Prague Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...	72	1994
Wetter	Germany	Cardinal Priest	Archbishop of Munich Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...	77	1985

See also