Widely known as the "Asian Francis", Fr Tagle accompanied Pope Francis on his 11-day tour of South East Asia last year. He also constantly tries to make Catholicism relevant to younger Filipinos with a strong presence on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and X.

Tributes to Pope Francis poured in from around the world, from presidents to people of all walks of life, after the Vatican announced the pontiff’s death at age 88 on Monday.

Pope Francis’s tenure was punctuated by repeated clashes with American political leaders and sweeping efforts to install more liberal-leaning church leaders.