Filipino Cardinal Tagle Becomes First Asian Dean

Pope Leo XIV approved Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s election as dean of the College of Cardinals on Oct. 8, 2026. Tagle, 69, a Filipino cardinal and pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization’s Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches, succeeds Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 92, who held the post since January 2020. Re becomes dean emeritus and retains the Suburbicarian Church of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto. Tagle assumes the Suburbicarian Church of Ostia while retaining Albano. He was elected by the most senior cardinals of the Order of Bishops and was the youngest in that group. The term is five years, renewable once. Tagle is the first Asian dean; the role was mostly held by Europeans aside from Cardinal Bernardin Gantin of Benin, 1993-2002. The dean helps lead the transition after a pope dies or resigns, including funeral and pre-conclave duties and, if eligible, aspects of the conclave. Contested: Rated outlets report the same approval date, succession, ages, and titles with no conflicting figures or claims. Tagle was considered a possible candidate in the May 2025 conclave that elected Leo. Associated Press coverage presents the post as raising his standing for a future conclave and notes the Ratzinger precedent; AP also names Parolin as a rumored alternative for dean. Tagle met Leo in a private audience at the Vatican on October 10.