Cardinals could pick Filipino Tagle, 'Asian Francis', as next pope

FILE PHOTO: Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle attends a mourning Mass for Pope Francis on the fifth day of Novendiali (nine days of mourning after the Pope's funeral) at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, April 30, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is sometimes called the "Asian Francis" because of his infectious smile, easy laugh, and spontaneity with words.

Like the late Argentine pope, he hails from a country far from the Catholic Church's traditional power base of Europe and came to Rome with an outsider's view.