FACT CHECK: No new pope as of April 25, conclave not yet held

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Videos circulating online falsely claim that the Philippines' Cardinal Tagle has already been elected pope; the conclave to choose Francis' successor, however, hasn't been held

Claim: Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has been elected as the new pope, taking the name Pope Luis I.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The YouTube channel “History Documentary Hub,” which has 5,390 subscribers, has posted similar claims multiple times since Pope Francis’ death on April 21. The most popular video has garnered 21,000 views and 305 likes.

One of the videos is titled “Breaking: Cardinal Tagle Elected As Pope Luis I — Church Enters A New Era!” Its thumbnail shows Tagle in a red robe and a papal mitre, a large white ceremonial headdress.  

The video’s caption reads: “In a momentous event that reshapes the fabric of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has been elected as Pope Luis I. Join us as we explore the journey of Pope Luis I from the Philippines to the Vatican, the secretive conclave process, and the jubilant announcement of ‘Habemus Papam!’”

When played, the video opens with a breaking news screen and proceeds to show clips of Tagle and the Vatican. The narrator then recounts Tagle’s biography, how the conclave supposedly chose him as the new pope, and reactions to his papacy.

The facts: A new pope can only be elected through a conclave, which must begin at least 15 days after the papacy is vacated, according to the apostolic constitution governing papal elections. No new pope has been elected as of Friday, April 25, because the conclave to choose Francis’ successor has not yet been held. No announcement has been made for the date of the conclave. (READ MORE: Conclave: How is the pope elected?) 

In this conclave, not more than 120 cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote for the Roman Catholic church’s next leader. These cardinals, like Filipino Cardinal Ambo David, had just started to leave for the Vatican when the false claims started circulating.

While the misleading video contains some factual information regarding Tagle’s background and the processes of the conclave, its references to Tagle’s election as pope are false. The video’s thumbnail showing Tagle wearing what appears to be papal attire has a 97% chance of being AI-manipulated, according to Sightengine, an online tool for AI image detection.

Tagle as contender for pope: While the choice for Pope Francis’ successor lies solely in the hands of the cardinal electors, talks of Tagle as “papabili” or a potential papal candidate have continued to circulate.

Tagle is often called the “Asian Francis” because of the same commitment to social justice he shares with the late pope. He is also head of the Church’s missionary arm, formally known as the Dicastery for Evangelisation, and used to serve as the top leader of Caritas Internationalis, an international confederation of Catholic relief organizations. (READ MORE:  ​Who might succeed Pope Francis? Some possible candidates)  

Tagle was also the former Archbishop of Manila and Bishop of Imus in Cavite, making him a popular choice for the papacy among Filipinos. However, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has appealed to the public to avoid openly advocating for Tagle to be the next pope.

“We leave it to the cardinal electors to decide who will succeed Pope Francis. It’s not prudent for the public to promote Cardinal Tagle as the next Pope, as this could create the impression that the conclave might be swayed by external influences if Cardinal Tagle is elected as the next pontiff,” said Rev. Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs.

Previous fact-checks: This is not the first time Rappler has debunked false claims about Tagle becoming pope. At the start of 2025, another YouTube video claimed that Pope Francis had resigned and that Tagle replaced him. 

Rappler has published other articles about religious figures:

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• FACT CHECK: Cardinal David not endorsing milk to control cholesterol levels
• FACT CHECK: Apollo Quiboloy’s cases in US not yet dismissed
• FACT CHECK: Quiboloy indicted for crimes in Philippine, US courts
• FACT CHECK: Video of priest’s ad for ‘holy water from Vatican’ is AI-generated    

– Shay Du/Rappler.com

Shay Du is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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