Top Contenders for Papacy After Francis

At the conclusion of the official days of mourning following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 135 cardinal electors are eligible to enter pre-conclave gatherings.

A Vision For a Globalized College of Cardinals

Pope Francis wasn’t the first pontiff to appoint to the College of Cardinals bishops from non-European, non-traditional locales in terms of Catholicism. He did, however, globalize the college in a way that far exceeds anyone who came before him.