Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, who recently drew international attention after being named among the potential successors to Pope Francis, has downplayed the speculation, urging the media to refrain from making such predictions.
The South Korean prelate emphasized that papal succession is historically unpredictable and warned against media assumptions.
“When I heard that, I just laughed and moved on. It’s an honor … but the speculation will certainly prove wrong. Nobody knows who will succeed Pope Francis. Never in history has a news media outlet guessed that right. This is a historical fact,” Cardinal You said via The Korea Times.
His remarks followed an article that included his name, along with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of the Democratic Republic of Congo, among the 12 potential papal candidates.
Born in 1951 in Nonsan, South Korea, Cardinal You was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Daejeon at the age of 28. He later became rector of the diocesan seminary and was appointed coadjutor bishop in 2003. He assumed full leadership of the diocese in 2005.
In 2007, he was named a member of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum by Pope Benedict XVI. Within the Korean Bishops’ Conference, he led committees on martyrs, youth, and migration, and served as head of Caritas Korea from 2004 to 2008, during which he visited Pyongyang four times.
In 2021, Pope Francis appointed him Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2022. Since then, he has also been appointed to multiple Vatican bodies, including the Dicastery for Bishops; Evangelization; Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Culture and Education; Legislative Texts; and the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State.
If elected, Cardinal You will be the first Korean pope.
The conclave — a private gathering where cardinals vote to elect a new pope — is scheduled to begin on May 7.
