French cardinal to take over should Pope die

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) appointed Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran the new camerlengo, or chamberlain, charged with temporarily taking over the pontiff’s duties if he resigns or dies.

It was 71-year-old Tauran, head of the Vatican’s Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, who in March 2013 told the world from the balcony of St. Peter’s basilica that a new pope had been elected, pronouncing the famous words “Habemus Papam.”