By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Pope Leo approved Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle's election as the dean of the Catholic Church's college of cardinals, the Vatican said on Friday, in the first selection of an Asian cleric to lead the elite group that one day will choose Leo's successor.
A former archbishop of Manila, Tagle has served as a senior Vatican official since 2020. He was widely seen as a likely papal candidate in the May 2025 conclave that elected Leo to lead the Church after the death of the late Pope Francis.
Tagle, 69, replaces Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who is 92 and retiring from the role.
Leo, 71, is relatively young for a pope, plays sports and is in good health.
The dean of the college of cardinals is considered the "first among equals" among the Church's highest-ranking clerics and is responsible for taking charge of the secretive conclave process, held in the Sistine Chapel, once a pope dies or resigns.
The dean, elected by his peers and approved by the pope, serves a five-year term that can be renewed once, according to Church law. The role has mostly been filled by Europeans, but was held by the late Beninese Cardinal Bernardin Gantin from 1993-2002.
Tagle was seen as a close ally of Pope Francis and is known for an infectious smile and is sometimes called by his diminutive nickname "Chito". He leads the Vatican's Dicastery for Evangelization, effectively the Church's missionary arm.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
