Vatican

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.

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

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is a popular speaker who is comfortable in several languages, has traveled extensively and is known for his focus on evangelization and care for the poor and for immigrants.

The face of the Catholic Church’s push to reestablish its relationship with the world of culture, a 59-year-old Portuguese poet and theologian, is among the youngest of the cardinals mentioned as a contender to become the successor of St. Peter.