Pietro Parolin has emerged as the early favourite to be elected next Pope at odds of 11/4 with BoyleSports as speculation begins to swirl around the future of the papacy.

Peter is the Prophets’ choice

Irish born Cardinal a 20/1 shot as Italian tops list

Pietro Parolin has emerged as the early favourite to be elected next Pope at odds of 11/4 with BoyleSports as speculation begins to swirl around the future of the papacy.

Dignitaries from around the world who flew in to attend last Saturday’s funeral for Pope Francis in Rome included US President Donald Trump, British PM Keir Starmer, the Prince of Wales, Irish President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

With an official mourning period of nine days concluding this weekend, attention is now turning to the secretive and potentially drawn-out process to elect the new pontiff, known as the conclave. Cardinals are set to gather to vote on a successor and eventually signal agreement with white smoke from the Sistine Chapel when a two-thirds majority for one candidate has been secured.

Italian Cardinal Parolin, who is most prominent in the long list of potential choices, effectively served as deputy during the reign of Pope Francis as the Vatican’s Secretary of State. However, more than half of those with a vote in the College of Cardinals will be non-European for the first time in history, sparking speculation that the papacy may go to Asia or Africa.

Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is therefore also considered a frontrunner at odds of 7/2, with a humble and reformist outlook seemingly responsible for his widely used nickname ‘Asian Francis.’

Cardinal Peter Turkson (4/1), who was the first Ghanaian to be made a Cardinal under Pope John Paul II, is the leading candidate to become the first Pope in more than 1,500 years to hail from Africa, where the growth of the Catholic Church is considered to give the continent a strong say in the succession. A leading contender when Francis was elected in 2013, Turkson would also be the first Vatican leader to feature a CV that includes playing guitar in a funk band.

And for those who believe in the ‘Prophecy of the Popes’, Pietro or Peter could be a wise choice as it appears to align with the remaining 1000-year-old prediction which refers to “Peter the Roman,” whose pontificate will allegedly precede the destruction of the city of Rome.

As acting head of the Vatican in his current position of camerlengo, Dublin-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell is responsible for organising the conclave and at 20/1 finds himself among the ten most likely candidates to succeed Pope Francis as global leader of the Catholic Church.

A spokesperson for leading Irish bookmaker BoyleSports said: “The Pope betting market is shaping up to be incredibly intriguing, with seasoned punters to wannabe prophets each convinced they’ve got divine insight into who will wear the white cassock next.”

BoyleSports has also opened a book on how soon we will see white smoke with five or six ballots expected to reveal a winner according to odds of 11/8. It took just two days for both previous Papal conclaves to reach a conclusion as Benedict XVI and Francis were elected after four and five ballots respectively.

The process to elect a successor begins on May 7th, with 134 Cardinals set to take part in the vote.

ENDS

Next Pope

11/4 Pietro Parolin

7/2 Luis Antonio Tagle

4/1 Peter Turkson

7/1 Matteo Zuppi

7/1 Pierrebattista Pizzaballa

8/1 Robert Sarah

11/1 Peter Erdo

20/1 Mykolo Bychok

20/1 Kevin Farrell

25/1 Cristobal Lopez Romero

33/1 Jean Marc Aveline

33/1 Mario Grech

33/1 Fridolin Ambongo Besungu

33/1 Raymond Leo Burke

33/1 Mauri Gambetti

33/1 Wilton Daniel Gregory

50/1 Anders Arborelius

50/1 Angelo Scola

50/1 Blase Joseph Cupich

50/1 Christoph Schonborn

50/1 Jack McDonald

50/1 Jean-Claude Hollerich

50/1 Joao Braz de Aviz

50/1 Jose Tolentino

50/1 Joseph Tobin

50/1 Konrad Krajewski

50/1 Lazarus You Heung-sik

50/1 Malcolm Ranjith

50/1 Marc Ouellet

50/1 Timothy Dolan

50/1 Wim Eijk

66/1 bar

How many ballots needed to elect new Pope?

11/8 5-6

2/1 7-8

11/4 3-4

11/2 9-10

10/1 11 or more

1-2 25/1

About BoyleSports

BoyleSports is an international sports betting and gaming company, with an extensive online business and retail portfolio.

Founded by John Boyle in 1982, the Irish family-owned firm has grown to become Ireland’s largest independently owned bookmaker and has over 390 shops across Ireland and the UK.

Its Head Office is located on the outskirts of Dundalk in the Republic of Ireland, and the company currently employs over 2,700 employees across Ireland, the UK and Gibraltar.

For more information, contact: pr@boylesports.com

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