Vatican

Cardinal Oswald Gracias of India, considered a member of the late pontiff’s inner circle, offered OSV News a candid and deeply personal reflection on the late pontiff’s legacy, the pre-election meetings, and the kind of leader the church needs next. The conclave to elect him starts May 7.

A former Vatican nuncio and collaborator in the Roman Curia, Sri Lankan Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith, 77, has been leading the Archdiocese of Colombo since 2009.

Of the 135 cardinals eligible to enter the Sistine Chapel on May 7 to elect the next pope, one absence has sparked confusion, controversy and no small amount of speculation, almost as if it were a plot point of the movie “Conclave.”

The 72-year-old Salesian missionary has spent more than three decades of his priestly ministry in the developing world and now leads a tiny Catholic minority in a Muslim-majority country.