Vatican News

For the second Sunday in a row, the balcony from where the pope prays the traditional Angelus remained empty. An unusual quiet blanketed the streets of Rome, with fewer of the usual crowds of faithful and tourists.

In a workshop that's a stone's throw from St. Peter's Basilica, 86-year-old Raniero Mancinelli has been sewing cassocks for popes for more than half a century.

He's a possible contender to succeed Pope Francis, but says he does not want the job.

Synodality may be the future, but pre-conclave meetings lack synodal style. 

Marseille's Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline is not widely considered a top-tier contender as cardinals approach the May 7 conclave to elect a new pope. But the French cardinal is still worth taking seriously.

If the next pope is from sub-Saharan Africa, he would be the first in Catholic Church history. Catholic Africans think it is a long shot, though some are cautiously optimistic that Pope Francis' successor could be a Black cardinal from their continent.

As in the past, for a conclave most of the Domus Sanctae Marthae's 131 rooms will be cleared out, and the cardinals will move in. The exception is the block of rooms that were used by Francis and sealed off when he died. That leaves about 125 rooms for 133 people, since Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, said two of the 135 eligible cardinals are too ill to attend the conclave.

At age 60, Franciscan Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa bears an undeniably impressive resume. And yet, his relatively youthful age is likely what will rule him out as a potential pope in this conclave.