Cindy Wooden

While no one expects cardinals to vote as geographical blocs for a new pope, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, president of the African bishops’ council, and the presidents of other regional conferences have connections and knowledge that many of their confreres do not.

Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the Chicago-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, is the U.S. cardinal most often mentioned as a potential successor of St. Peter, but almost always with the caveat that he has an “outside” chance.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state since early in the pontificate of Pope Francis, has long been near the top of pundits’ lists of potential successors to the Argentine pope.

St. John Paul II had the Domus Sanctae Marthae built primarily to house cardinals in simple comfort during a conclave.