The Catholic Secular Forum, an independent Christian clergy organisation in Mumbai, on Monday asked the 16 million Catholics in India to pray to get city Archdiocese Cardinal Ivan Dias elected as the next Pope.

The Vatican will soon elect a religious leader for the 1.1 billion Catholics in the world to succeed Pope John Paul II, who died on Saturday.

"Since Catholics believe that the Holy Father is elected by a move of God, the Holy Spirit, prayers are necessary to elect the best man from among the good, in these trying times for the universal church," the CSF said in a release in Mumbai.

• How the next Pope will be elected

There is an increasing need for a Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church from Asia, Africa or Latin America, as the Church is either neglected or is growing very rapidly in these continents, the release said.

"These regions account for almost 70 per cent of the world Catholic population," it noted.

The 69-year-old Dias has the much-needed global experience and he has also considerable influence in the Vatican, the CSF said.