I’m back and it is Conclave SZN, and I’m obsessed. I’ve got book recs for some cardinals who are most likely to be pope. It’s required reading, and since they have no access to phones or the outside world while they’re sequestered in the Vatican, they will have plenty of time to read!

Pietro Parolin, 70, Italy

As far as betting sites are concerned Parolin is the most likely contender to get us the white smoke. He is an Italian and served as the “deputy Pope” under Pope Francis. He will be presiding over the papal election in his role as Vatican secretary of state. He obviously needs to read Robert Harris’ Conclave so he can know what to expect.

Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, 67, Philippines

Tagle is a liberal leaning Cardinal affectionately called “the Asian Francis” and he is known for his personal touch and connection with the poor. He has received criticism for not being vocal against President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war in the Philippines, and so to help him better understand the scope of those events he should read Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country by Patricia Evangelista. This memoir is powerful and drives home the abuses of power and attacks on humanity that occurred under Duterte.

Fridolin Ambongo, 65, Democratic Republic of Congo

Ambongo would be a break from tradition and the first African Pope. While that is exciting he is extremely conservative and has been vocal about his feelings against same sex marriage. If he were to read Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart he would get to see a complex depiction of one man’s life growing up gay in Scotland. Plus he’d get a little anti-Thatcher politics too, and we all need that, future Pope or not.

Peter Erdo, 72, Hungary

This guy is said to be one of the more conservative front runners and he is a big anti-divorce guy. But like, some people should not be together. I dare him to read Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner and still be against married people breaking up.

Pierbattista Pizzaballa, 60, Italy

Pizzaballa is one of our newest cardinals, only joining the crew in 2023. He has made a name for himself through his experience in the Middle East. He gained notoriety for offering himself up to Hamas as a hostage after the October 7th attacks in exchange for the release of children who had been taken. He has also come out against the unrelenting violence of Israel against the people of Gaza. He is clearly grappling with the complicated nature of human conflict and so to him I suggest Omar El Akkad’s new essay collection on empire, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This.

Peter Turkson, 76, Ghana

Turkson had been suspected to be a favorite to replace Francis in the past, however, in recent years he has lost his allure after stepping down from running a major church office (after an investigation…so maybe something was afoot?). He has a record consistent with Francis on social justice, the environment, and more, but since his resignation people are less excited. I think for these reasons a book about a shunning might fit for Turkson. There is no more famous shunning than that of Hester, the protagonist in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Plus the red will match his robe.

Matteo Zuppi, 69, Italy

Zuppi is another Pope hopeful (aka popeful), who is looking to bring the scepter back to Italy. He is known for his work supporting migrants. Lauren Markham’s book A Map of Future Ruins: On Borders and Belonging that examines life at a refugee camp in Greece feels like something he would enjoy and something that would deepen his thinking about how we talk about and relate to the arbitrary lines that define our borders.

Robert Francis Prevost, 69, United States of America

We have never had an American Pope, and let’s be serious, we likely will not get one this time around. But if we do, it will likely be Prevost. He’s from Chicago but is known for his work around the world being said to “defy borders”. He has, however, garnered criticism for his lack of response to the Catholic priest scandal over the years. I don’t know much about what goes on behind those closed doors, but I like to think if the American is going to win, this underdog will need to get creative and be cunning and charming. He is going to have to lean into his inner Katniss Everdeen, so to Prevost I say read The Hunger Games series from Suzanne Collins. And, may the odds be ever in your favor.