Pope OKs Tagle as first Asian dean of cardinals

This photo taken and handout on May 18, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle putting the Fisherman's Ring on a finger of Pope Leo XIV during a Holy mass for the beginning of his pontificate, in St Peter's square in The Vatican.

Photo by handout / Vatican Media / AFP

MANILA, Philippines — Pope Leo XIV has approved the election of Filipino Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle as dean of the College of Cardinals, making him the first Asian prelate to hold the position and placing him among the Church’s key figures in the process of choosing the next pope.

The Vatican announced the appointment on Friday after Leo accepted the resignation of Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 92, who had held the post since January 2020.

Re retains the title of dean emeritus and his titular church of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto.

Tagle, 69, a former archbishop of Manila, has served as a senior Vatican official since 2020. He currently serves as pro-prefect of the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, the Church’s missionary arm.

As dean, Tagle will coordinate the work of the cardinal bishops and assume specific responsibilities during a papal vacancy, including presiding over a conclave if eligible.

The secretive process takes place in the Sistine Chapel following a pope’s death or resignation.

The dean is considered primus inter pares, or first among equals, among the Church’s highest ranking clerics. However, the position does not grant him governing authority over fellow cardinals by virtue of the office alone.

Under a 2019 reform introduced by Pope Francis through a motu proprio, the dean serves a five-year term that may be renewed once. Previously, the position was held for life.