Dominican Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez is among the 19 Latin American cardinals under the age of 80, and thus eligible for voting and being chosen as the successor to Pope Benedict XV1, following his retirement on 28 February. The new pope will be elected in March 2013. ?As well as Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, Archbishop of Santo Domingo from the Dominican Republic, five of the Latin American cardinals are Brazilian, three are Mexican, two are Argentinian, one is Chilean, one is Peruvian, one is Bolivian, one is Cuban, one is Honduran, one is Ecuadorian, one is Venezuelan, and one is Colombian. An estimated half of the members of the Roman Catholic Church are Latin American, which could be a reason to choose a Latin American pope this time. But there is also a strong possibility that an African pope could be elected especially since there are 165 million Catholics in Africa and more could be encouraged to join with an African Pope. Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana is mentioned as a strong candidate. The last two popes have been Polish and German.
www.religionfacts.com/christianity/features/papal_elections.htm#sthash.4cwRjLFv.dpuf