Two African Cardinals are among the names being floated to succeed Pope Francis after his death aged 88. Tributes have flooded in on Easter Monday following the announcement, which has left millions of Catholics around the world in a state of mourning.

While arrangements are being made for his funeral, all eyes will soon turn to the question of his replacement. Among those who have been tipped to get the white smoke to be the next pope are left-leaning Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Phillipines, who could seek to modernise the church, as well as arch-Conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke, an American who previously challenged  the Church's stance on LGBTQ+ rights and civil marriages.

There are also two African candidates on the list, and although they might be outsiders, it would be historic if one of them were to be chosen. The continent has only produced three popes in the history of the Catholic church, which would make the appointment of either of them even more monumental.

Cardinal Peter Turkson is being floated as a possible contender to succeed Pope Francis - and is perhaps the most mentioned name outside of Europe. Hailing from Ghana, the 76-year-old has been seen as a potentially divisive figure within the Vatican due to his relatively liberal views on homosexuality and environmental issues.

However, he played a key role in advising Pope Francis on these two topics, as well as on social justice. He would be the first black African pope in history if chosen by his fellows in the conclave.

Meanwhile, another name that has been floated is that of Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, a 79-year-old prelate who served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2014 until 2021. He has been outspoken in his criticism of gender ideology and his denunciation of Islamic radicalism.

While 217 popes have come from Italy, as well as 16 from France, six from Germany and four from Greece, only three have hailed from Africa.

In fact, all three of those who did came from Africa Proconsularis, an historic Roman province which is now mostly consists of modern-day Tunisia.

In order, they were Pope Victor I, whose dates of tenure are uncertain but predicted by historians to be around 199AD, Pope Miltiades (311 AD to 314 AD) and Pope Gelasius I, who served as the Bishop of Rome from 492 to 496 AD.