The question “who is the next pope” is already settled: the current and “next” pope after Francis is Pope Leo XIV , born Robert Francis Prevost, elected in May 2025 as the 267th Bishop of Rome.

Quick Scoop: Who is the “next pope”?

If you are asking who became pope after Pope Francis, the answer is:

  • Name as pope: Leo XIV.
  • Birth name: Robert Francis Prevost.
  • Role: 267th Bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church.
  • Elected: In a conclave held 7–8 May 2025, convened after the death of Pope Francis on 21 April 2025.

So in current news and forum talk, when people say “who is the next pope,” they are referring to the man who succeeded Francis—Pope Leo XIV —rather than to some future, unknown successor.

In other words, the “next pope” is no longer a prediction; he is already in office as Pope Leo XIV.

How he became pope

A brief story-style rundown of what happened:

  1. Pope Francis’s death
    • Pope Francis died on 21 April 2025, which automatically ended his pontificate and triggered preparations for a conclave to choose his successor.
  1. The 2025 conclave
    • 135 cardinals were eligible to vote, and all but two took part in the conclave held in the Sistine Chapel on 7–8 May 2025.
 * Voting took four ballots; on the fourth, the cardinals reached well over the two‑thirds majority needed (more than 100 votes for Prevost).
  1. “Habemus Papam” and the new name
    • After he accepted, Robert Francis Prevost chose the papal name Leo XIV , partly in honor of Pope Leo XIII.
 * From the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, the protodeacon announced “Habemus Papam” and introduced Leo XIV to the world.

 * His first public words as pope reportedly began with a greeting of peace to all.

This is the moment when the “next pope” stopped being speculation and became a specific person.

Current situation: not future speculation

Right now, most “who is the next pope” forum or news threads fall into two categories:

  • Pre‑2025 speculation pieces
    • Before the conclave, many articles and forum threads listed likely papal candidates—names like Parolin, Tagle, Pizzaballa, Erdő, Turkson, Sarah, and Zuppi often came up as frontrunners.
* Those lists are now historical curiosity; they show how people tried to guess, but they are no longer about the “next” pope in a forward‑looking sense.
  • Post‑2025 context
    • Newer Catholic and news sources now speak about Pope Leo XIV’s early pontificate, including things like his travel plans for 2026, such as expected visits to countries like Algeria and possible trips in Africa and Europe, while confirming he will not visit the United States this year.
* Discussions focus on what his choices say about his priorities and style as a pope.

So if your question is literal and up‑to‑date—“Who is the next pope now?”—the accurate answer is that the “next” pope is already known and serving: Pope Leo XIV (Robert Francis Prevost).

Forum‑style angle and trending context

Because your prompt is styled like a forum “Quick Scoop” post, here’s how the conversation tends to sound in online discussions:

  • Before the conclave, people traded their own “papabile lists,” debating whether the Church would choose:
    • A continuity figure similar to Francis,
    • A more conservative “course correction” profile, or
    • A pope from regions like Africa or Asia to reflect demographic shifts in Catholicism.
  • Betting and prediction markets even assigned odds to various cardinals, with some like Pietro Parolin and Luis Antonio Tagle often rated higher than Prevost before the vote.
  • After Leo XIV’s election, the tone of “next pope” chatter shifted from speculation about who to analysis of what kind of pope he will be—his diplomatic style, travel choices, and how he will position himself amid global politics and internal Church debates.

An illustrative forum‑style comment might look like:

“We spent months arguing about Tagle vs. Parolin vs. Zuppi, and then the cardinals went with Prevost and surprised the prediction markets. Now the real question isn’t ‘who is the next pope’—it’s ‘what kind of pontificate will Leo XIV have?’”

HTML table: Key facts about the “next pope”

Below is an HTML table summarizing the main factual points.

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Aspect</th>
      <th>Details about the “next pope”</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Papal name</td>
      <td>Leo XIV[web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Birth name</td>
      <td>Robert Francis Prevost[web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Position</td>
      <td>267th Bishop of Rome, head of the Catholic Church[web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Elected</td>
      <td>Chosen in the 2025 conclave on the fourth ballot (7–8 May 2025)[web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Predecessor</td>
      <td>Pope Francis, who died on 21 April 2025[web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Notable early point</td>
      <td>Chose the name Leo partly in honor of Pope Leo XIII[web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Recent news</td>
      <td>Planning international trips in 2026; confirmed he will not visit the United States this year[web:5][web:7][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.