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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.

French Cardinal Christophe Pierre, 79, has worked the past 48 years in the Vatican’s diplomatic service, most recently as papal nuncio to the United States for the past nine years.

Although not a familiar name in the U.S. press, Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest, 72, is a major figure among his peers in Europe, the church’s traditional heartland and the region of about 38.5% of the cardinal electors.

As the Catholic Church’s cardinals prepare to elect a new pope, they must be wary of “elegant speeches” that hide a subtle cruelty toward the poor and vulnerable, said the Vatican’s former doctrinal chief.