Pope Leo Approves Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as First Asian Dean of the College of Cardinals

Pope Leo XIV approved the election of Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle as dean of the College of Cardinals. The Vatican announced the decision on Friday, 9 October 2026. Tagle, 69, was elected on 8 October by the cardinals of the Order of Cardinal-Bishops. He succeeds Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 92, whose resignation the pope accepted. Tagle is the first Asian to hold the post.

The dean is described as primus inter pares among the Church’s highest-ranking clerics. The office, which dates to the twelfth century, carries responsibility for summoning cardinals, presiding over general congregations and leading the conclave process when a pope dies or resigns. Re performed most of those duties after the death of Pope Francis in April 2025 but, being over 80, could not enter the conclave that elected Leo. Tagle will assume the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Ostia while retaining Albano.

Tagle, known as Chito, served as archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2020 before moving to the Roman Curia. He currently serves as Pro-Prefect of the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches in the Dicastery for Evangelization. He was widely discussed as a possible candidate in the 2025 conclave. He participated in the 2013 conclave that elected Francis and later served as president of Caritas Internationalis. He and then-Cardinal Robert Prevost (now Leo) worked in the Curia at the same time before the last conclave.

The appointment places a Filipino prelate at the head of the body that will elect Leo’s successor. It does not make Tagle the next pope; eligible cardinal electors choose the successor in a conclave, and the dean does not select the candidate. The five-year term is renewable once. The election occurred while many cardinal-bishops were in Rome for a meeting marking the tenth anniversary of the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia.

For the Catholic Church in Asia and the Philippines the change is a formal recognition of Tagle’s standing within the College. The practical duties of the dean remain largely dormant while Leo is in office and in good health. The office becomes active at the next papal transition. The Vatican statement and the confirmation by Leo establish the new line of succession for that role.