Mysterious Gamers can vote for "their" pope in new online game
While the cardinals are getting ready to elect the next pope next week, thousands of online gamers are already further along: they have chosen "their" head of the Catholic Church in a new game.
30.04.2025, 06:00
SDA
Almost 60,000 players have registered on the "Fantapapa" website so far, as its operators reported on Tuesday. The game draws on the enthusiasm of Italians for both football and the Church and was launched following the death of Pope Francis last week.
Similar to online games for football fans, players can set up a team of eleven cardinals in "Fantapapa". They can choose the cardinal they think is the most likely candidate to succeed Francis as team captain; the goalkeeper is the one they think has the least chance.
On Tuesday, Matteo Zuppi was the cardinal chosen by the most players as the new Pope, followed by Pietro Parolin, Luis Antonio Tagle and Pierbattista Pizzaballa. The players' list of favorites thus largely corresponded to the expectations of the betting offices.
Outsiders also among the top ten
But outsiders were also among the top ten: Cardinal Fabio Baggio was in seventh place - probably because he has the same surname as Italian football legend Roberto Baggio, as game co-developer Pietro Pace speculates. José Advincula from the Philippines was in sixth place - he was probably chosen by many players because he is at the top of the Cardinals' alphabetical order.
Most gamers chose Mykola Bychok, the Ukrainian-born Archbishop of Melbourne in Australia and currently the world's youngest cardinal, as the goalkeeper. As a result, very few users see him as the future Pope.
Players can also score points on "Fantapapa" by guessing the future pope's political stance, his religious order, his mother tongue or his papal name. In the latter category, Francis, John, Pius, Paul and Leo are currently in the lead. The winners of "Fantapapa" cannot win any money - its creators Pietro Pace and Mauro Vanetti are activists against gambling addiction. Instead, the winners could win "eternal fame", said Pace.
