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.

Archbishop Dolan distributes ashes to a worshiper during Ash Wednesday services at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, March 9, 2011.

Archbishop Dolan laughs as he greets a procession of catholic clergy outside St. Patrick's Cathedral before his Installation Mass in New York, April 15, 2009.

Archbishop Dolan sits between U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and U.S. President Barack Obama at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Program at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, Oct. 18, 2012.

Nuns watch as Archbishop Dolan speaks during his first service as archbishop during his Mass of Installation at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 15, 2009.

Archbishop Dolan acknowledges applause from the crowd during his Archdiocese of New York Mass of Installation, March 30, 2009 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.

Archbishop Dolan joins fellow volunteers distributing food at a breadline at St. Francis Assisi on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012 in New York City.

Archbishop Dolan prepares communion during his first service and his Mass of Installation at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 15, 2009.

Archbishop Dolan dispenses incense during his first service during his Mass of Installation at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 15, 2009.

Books bearing the image of Archbishop Dolan are laid out for people attending the Solemn Vespers ceremony for Dolan at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 14, 2009.

Archbishop Dolan shakes hands with Ronald McDonald during the 2009 Puerto Rican Day Parade on the streets of Manhattan, June 14, 2009 in New York City.

Archbishop Dolan visits Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, April 24, 2009 in New York City.

Archbishop Dolan looks at the clergy behind him near the end of the Archdiocese of New York Mass of Installation at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 15, 2009.

Newly-appointed Cardinal Dolan waves at the Vatican for a private audience by Pope Benedict XVI, Feb. 20, 2012.

Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, leads anniversary Mass at Immaculate Conception parish on Nov. 17, 2012 in Staten Island, New York.

Archbishop Dolan walks outside following his first service during his Mass of Installation at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 15, 2009.

Archbishop of New York-designate Dolan participates in a Solemn Vespers, or evening prayer service, ahead of his installation as New York Archbishop at St. Patrick's Cathedral April 14, 2009 in New York City.

Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, offers Mass with fellow Catholics at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013.

Bishops Timothy Dolan (R) and Robert Baker enter the ballroom for the start of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as the group begins the three day meeting of their annual conference at St. Louis Union Station June 19, 2003 in St. Louis, Mo.

New York Archbishop-designate Timothy Dolan (L) and Monsignor Dennis Delaney (C) listen as Cardinal Edward M. Egan speaks during a Solemn Vespers, or evening prayer service, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 14, 2009 in New York City.

Archbishop Dolan (center) attends the 2009 Puerto Rican Day Parade on the streets of Manhattan, June 14, 2009.

Cardinal Dolan arrives for a meeting at the Vatican, March 6, 2013.

161625274(1).jpg — John Moore/Getty Images

Cardinal Dolan addresses the media at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013.

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