Apart from Cardinal Tagle, who would be the leading papabile if the conclave were to take place in the near future?
• Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, would be high on any list. He too would have both the benefits and the drawbacks of a close association with Pope Francis and the possibility that he (not quite 65 years old) could have a long pontificate. He has a very distinguished record as a Vatican diplomat, but he is handicapped by never having served as a diocesan bishop. And the financial scandals currently swirling around the Secretariat of State might hurt his chances.
• Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, could be a prominent contender in light of his current role chairing the Council of Cardinals. But he will be 78 years old soon, and both he and the archdiocese he leads have been implicated in both financial and sex-abuse scandals.
• Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, were considered leading papabile before the last conclave. They are both at retirement age (Ouellet is 75; Schönborn will reach that age in January), but some cardinal-electors might actually favor an older candidate, with the prospect of a comparatively short pontificate. Both cardinals are former students of Pope Benedict XVI; that too could be seen as either a plus or a minus.
• And Cardinal Robert Sarah might be the candidate most likely to draw support from cardinals who look back fondly on the days of Pope Benedict, and hope for a reversal of Pope Francis’ policies. Cardinal Sarah has been careful to avoid criticism of the Holy Father, even while he has seen his own influence wither during the current pontificate; he has been a loyal soldier—some might say too loyal. Still he has published three books in quick succession, outlining his own clear vision of the needs of the Church. A native of Guinea (where he risked his life in defiance of a dictator) and now a veteran of the Roman Curia, he would bring a dramatic personal story to the papacy, as the first African Pontiff in centuries. He is 74 years old.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, who is a leader of the St. Egidio Community. Like the cardinal, the St. Egidio Community is not well known in the US, but exercises enormous influence in Italy, in Europe generally, and in fact in Africa—where it has helped to mediate international peace accords.
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/who-is-most-likely-to-succeed-pope-francis/