Iraqi Cardinal Louis Sako has entered the list of candidates for the position of Pope following the death of Pope Francis, Arabic language Miliq reported on April 21.

Saad Salloum, a researcher specialising in diversity issues and former United Nations advisor in Iraq, confirmed that the Iraqi Cardinal, who serves as Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, is now among the potential successors to the papacy.

Pope Francis died of a stroke and subsequent irreversible heart failure, the Vatican said in a statement following an outpouring of grief in the Catholic and Christian communities. Pope Francis confirmed in his final testament that he wished to be buried in Rome's Basilica of Saint Mary Major and "without particular decoration." Previous pontiffs have been buried in the Vatican. 

"With the death of Pope Francis, Iraqi Cardinal Louis Sako, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, enters the list of candidates for the papal position," Salloum wrote in a social media post.

Salloum highlighted that Sako was appointed Cardinal on June 28, 2018, giving Iraq a voice in selecting the next Pope.

"Sako has entered history as the only Cardinal from the Middle East who has the right to vote and nominate in the College of Cardinals to choose the Pope after Pope Francis' death," he explained.

The Patriarch is the third Iraqi prelate to be appointed Cardinal, following the Patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church, Cardinal Ignatius Gabriel I Tappouni, and Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, Sako's predecessor.

Sako is also the second Patriarch in the Middle East to be elevated to the cardinalate after Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros.

As a voting member of the College of Cardinals, Sako would participate in the conclave to elect a new Pope and could potentially become the first Iraqi to lead the Roman Catholic Church.

Sako was born in the city of Zakho on July 4, 1948. He comes from an ethnic Assyrian family of the Chaldean Catholic Church, which has roots in a religious community that has had a presence in the city of his birth since the 5th century AD.

Following Pope Francis’ death, several other cardinals are expected to put their names in the ballot, including Italian Pietro Parolin, Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle and Ghanaian Peter Turkson, The Guardian reported.