What do Catholics around the world hope for from a new pope? Some wish for a version of Pope Francis

Among the roughly 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, many are keenly anticipating the upcoming Vatican conclave at which members of the College of Cardinals will elect a successor to Pope Francis. At a university in the United States, a Black township in South Africa and other far-flung locations, The Associated Press asked nine of them what they hope to see from a new pope.

Makuc goes to Mass daily at the campus chapel. At a recent service, she joined other young Catholics in a prayer for the cardinals voting in the conclave.

“I’m hoping that we have a leader who can just really share the Christian message of mercy and forgiveness, as well as joy and hope,” she said after the service, where a photo of Francis was displayed. “That’s something Pope Francis was really good about — spreading the joy and hope found in Christ’s resurrection.”

She also hopes the next pope will fight for the protection of life from conception to natural death.

The new pope should be “someone who’s really able to be a witness to the culture of life,” said Makuc, co-president of the Aquinas Institute, the university’s Catholic campus ministry.

“As a young American, there’s a real want for guidance. ... We kind of look at the political system of America and neither party feels like a home to Catholics,” she said. “As we face such a political division, a pope who can bring peace and unity is what’s most important.”

—By Luis Andres Henao in Princeton.

Medina said Francis sought to bring youth closer to the church, and his successor should be, even more so, “the pope of the young.”

“I expect the same from the new pope: that he calls young people together, that he brings them closer to God, because I feel we live in a society that has lost many of its values; and that he brings them closer to their families, that he reminds them of their principles. … Now we see animal abuse, family abuse, bullying.”

The next pontiff, he added, should “have the openness of Francis but the love that John Paul II expressed.”

—By Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires.

Buboiro has been a Catholic since birth. She hopes the next pope will continue to embrace everyone regardless of their background and sexual orientation.

Human rights groups in Kenya have expressed concerns about discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. But Bunoro says “being gay is God’s wish” and they shouldn't be spurned by the church.

The mother of seven lives in a Nairobi slum, earning a living through menial work such as washing clothes and cleaning.

Bunoro says more cardinals should be appointed from Africa so the continent has more say in Vatican leadership decisions.

—By Brian Inganga in Nairobi.

Rudinger, who teaches at the university of education of the Diocese of Linz in Austria, was in Berlin to prepare a field trip for his students.

Sitting outside St. Hedwig’s Cathedral in Berlin's historic center, Rudinger said his paramount hope for the next pope is to have an open mind.

“I expect the pope to have open arms, to have open hands for the concerns of the people who approach him, regardless of whether they're Catholic or not,” he said.

He hopes the next pope will tackle difficult issues, such as the role of women in the church and whether they can become priests.

For many Austrian Catholics, he said, it’s important the pope hear their concerns about a priest shortage in their region and the possible abolition of celibacy as a requirement for ordination.

—By Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin.

Rakoma lives in Alexandra, a mostly Black township in Johannesburg, and is president of the Catholic Women’s League of Alexandra. She spoke to the AP at a memorial service for Pope Francis at a Catholic church in Soweto last week, when she wore a dress adorned with his image.

Rakoma said she would celebrate if the new pope is the first ever from sub-Saharan Africa. But more important, she said, is that he continue with Pope Francis’ message of encouraging unity among the world's people.

“It’s not about color, race or gender,” Rakoma said. “Whichever pope will be elected, it has to be about the glory of God, not about being whichever cultural, race or gender background you come from."

"The new pope must take over from Pope Francis, lead the way, and walk in his footsteps.”

—By Alfonso Nqunjana in Johannesburg.

Caniglia said he's not a frequent churchgoer in his hometown of Mantova but goes for baptisms, weddings or funerals, plus Easter and Christmas services.

“If the Catholic Church wants to survive in this fast-changing world, it needs to change and the pope needs to lead that way,” said Caniglia, adding that the new pope must address issues such as gender equality in the church and discrimination against gays and lesbians.

“Pope Francis did a good job regarding those topics and I want the next pope to continue that way,” said Caniglia, who spoke to the AP while visiting Berlin with his wife. He thinks it would be nice if the next pope did not come from Europe, but perhaps from Asia or Africa.

“I know many Catholics would have a problem with a Black pope but I don’t think it’s a problem at all,” he said.

—By Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin

In Asia's largest Catholic nation, long plagued by poverty and inequality, Onal longs for a successor to Francis, who, like him, would reach out to society’s margins.

Francis’ embrace of the poor, sick and neglected refocused global attention on their plight and prompted many clergy to venture beyond church confines and emulate his example, Onal said.

"Hopefully the successor will be like him or somebody who can do even more,” Onal said. “The next pope should be truly pro-poor, open-minded to all the issues in the world like poverty and the LGBTQ issue.”

Onal serves as a volunteer leader for a church in the Manila region led by a locally prominent priest and human rights activist, the Rev. Robert Reyes. Onal and other volunteers have helped Reyes hold street Masses and Bible-reading sessions in slum neighborhoods.

—By Jim Gomez in Manila

Dijkstra said he hopes the next pope “maintains the same culture” as his predecessor, Francis, “instead of going back 80 years and once again punish people who think differently or are different from what the Church believes.”

He said the new leader of the Catholic Church should strive to be inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community, as the late Argentine pontiff did.

He also said he hoped for a pope with Francis’ simpleness, that would advocate for a more accessible Church, free of “internal corruption.”

“With the money the Vatican has, poverty would be easily resolved, and I don’t see them using that money to help.”

—by Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires

Anka says he's concerned that Christians worldwide are moving away from the church and hopes the new pope strives to bring them back to the fold.

The owner of a grocery shop in Beirut, Anka worries that many young people in Lebanon and elsewhere are straying from the church as smartphones open a wider world to them.

“The church is very weak in the face of what we are living through,” he said.

Christians make up a third of Lebanon’s population of 6 million, the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East. The country is coming out of the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war that left over 4,000 dead.

“The work of the new pope should be to bring back the happiness, confidence and internal peace,” Anka said. “Christians used to go and face life without fear.”

—By Bassem Mroue in Beirut

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Bernard Anka, 65, a Lebanese Maronite Catholic an owner of a grocery shop in Beirut's predominantly Christian district of Gemayze, speaks during an interview with the associated press, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Santiago Difkstra stands for a portrait in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Marileen Onal stands in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Quezon City, Philippines on Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Carlo Caniglia, 60, an Italian Catholic, sits for a portrait in front of St. Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin, Germany, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Beatrice Rakoma, 64, who lives in the Alexandra township of Johannesburg, South Africa, stands for a portrait after attending a memorial service for Pope Francis at the Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Soweto on Thursday May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Alfonso Nqunjana)

Christoph Rudinger 49, an Austrian Catholic teacher, stands for a portrait at St. Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin, Germany, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Mercyline Bunoro, 64, mother of seven, sits for a portrait In Nairobi, Kenya, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Alicler Medina, 35, holds his dog, Oru, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Nadia Makuc, a Catholic and Princeton University student, poses for a portrait at the university chapel after attending a service in Princeton, N.J., on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)