I needed to check on when Pope Francis was elected. Indeed it was ten years ago, a good reign for an old man. I came across this interesting tidbit about the election of popes. But it seems a bit backwards.
The pope does not need to be a cardinal elector or indeed a cardinal; since the pope is the bishop of Rome, only those who can be ordained a bishop can be elected, which means that any male baptized Catholic is eligible. The last to be elected when not yet a bishop was Gregory XVI in 1831, the last to be elected when not even a priest was Leo X in 1513, and the last to be elected when not a cardinal was Urban VI in 1378. If someone who is not a bishop is elected, he must be given episcopal ordination before the election is announced to the people.
How could the last not to be a Cardinal have been elected before two men who were not even ordained a priest or a bishop?
The church (I am not a Roman Catholic) should look for much younger men to lead it.
Technically, a cardinal is a Papal advisor & elector, and can be a layman. Leo X became a cardinal at the age of 13, and Pope at the age of 37.
No, the Church should look for much more orthodox men to lead it.