Any baptized male Catholic is canonically eligible to be elected pope. Technically, the candidate does not have to be a cardinal or even a bishop at the time of election. However, if the elected individual is not already a bishop, he must be immediately ordained as one to assume the papacy

. In practice, the pope is almost always chosen from among the cardinals, who are senior bishops and church leaders well known to the College of Cardinals. This is because the role requires extensive sacred and human experience, and cardinals are the usual electors in the papal conclave

. Additional informal expectations include:

• Being male and baptized Catholic
• Having the use of reason
• Usually being a bishop or at least willing to be ordained bishop immediately upon election
• Typically being a member of the College of Cardinals, although this is not a strict canonical requirement

In summary, while canon law allows any baptized Catholic male to be pope, the practical and traditional norm is that the pope is a cardinal who is already a bishop or who will become one immediately after election