All but four of the 135 cardinals who are eligible to enter the conclave May 7 to vote for a new pope had arrived in Rome by May 2, according to the Vatican press office.

With the conclave just a few days away, the pastor of a Maryland parish told OSV News he has “an enormous degree of confidence” in the papal selection process, having seen it from the inside in 2005 when Pope Benedict XVI was chosen.

The extensive role of the cardinals in today’s papal elections and in the church can be traced to the 11th century and Pope Nicholas II.

President Donald Trump on May 1 signed an executive order creating a religious liberty commission during an interfaith event marking the National Day of Prayer in the White House Rose Garden.

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.

As the College of Cardinals gathers in Rome for the conclave that will elect our next pope, the rest of us may feel like we have no real role to play in the process.

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.

The challenge of leading a Catholic flock of 1.4 billion, from that moment on, will be on his shoulders. From theologians to Vatican insiders, there’s agreement that the next pontiff must balance deep faith with sharp governance.

As cardinals gather in Rome ahead of the May 7 conclave, thousands of pilgrims are flocking to the Basilica of St. Denis in Argenteuil, France, to venerate what’s believed to be the holy tunic of Jesus — the seamless robe described in the Gospels.