Cardinal Tagle elected Dean of the College of Cardinals
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will now take over as the Dean of the College of Cardinals at the Holy See.
The Holy See announced that Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches within the Dicastery for Evangelization, was elected by the cardinals of the Order of Cardinal-Bishops on Oct. 8.
He will succeed 92-year-old Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who just stepped down after serving since 2020.
The 69-year-old Tagle will take on the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Ostia while keeping his existing title of the Suburbicarian Church of Albano. Cardinal Re, meanwhile, will keep the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto and assume the title of "Dean Emeritus" of the College of Cardinals, per Vatican News.
Tagle has headed one of the two sections of the Dicastery for Evangelization, formerly known as Propaganda Fide. As Dean, he will lead the world’s cardinals by coordinating their activities, but will not exercise governing authority over them, in keeping with the principle of primus inter pares, or “first among equals.”
His primary duty will be to convene and preside over a future papal conclave in the event of a sede vacante, or vacant Holy See, provided he is under 80 and eligible to vote.
The late Pope Francis changed the Dean’s tenure from a lifelong appointment to a five-year term, renewable if necessary. Tagle’s term is therefore set to run until 2031.
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