Cardinal Timothy Dolan

All 115 cardinals will gather in the Vatican for the papal conclave this week and the list of possible candidates is long. Though any one of them could be the next pope, Vatican experts have identified a few potential favorites.

Though he has only been a cardinal for just over a year, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York already has admirers at the Vatican. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI called him "enthusiastic, joyful and profound," and appointed him to his commission on the New Evangelization. President of the U.S. Bishop's Conference, Card. Dolan could be seen as bringing American-style transparency and governance to the Vatican but his lack of experience working at the Vatican might be a strike against him.

In this photo, Archbishop Dolan is pictured after Ash Wednesday services at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, March 9, 2011.

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