Cardinals gather at the Vatican ahead of papal election

Preparations for electing the new leader of the Catholic church began in earnest on Monday as the College of Cardinals opened daily talks to sketch an identikit for the next pope and ponder who among them might fit it.

The cardinals arrived at the Vatican in the early morning to take part in the general congregations, closed-door meetings in the interregnum between a papacy and the conclave to choose the next one. They will hold morning and afternoon sessions in an apparent effort to discuss as much as possible in a short time.

“We have meetings all this week to get to know each other better and consider the questions that we face,” said French Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois as he arrived at the Vatican.

Asked if he thought there may be an Italian pope, he replied: “All is possible in this world. There is not only Angelo Scola among the Italians there are certainly others among them who could be pope” he said.

Many people are guessing over possible candidates for the next pope.

“Whichever priest, whichever Christian who could be elected would be perfectly accepted into the church because I think this is one of our great values” said Spanish Cardinal Carlos Amigo Vallejo.

“In our Christian world there are no colours, the colour makes no difference” he said.

Cardinals never reveal publicly who they prefer as pope but drop hints in interviews by discussing the identikit for their ideal candidate. The most frequently mentioned quality here is an ability to communicate the Catholic faith convincingly.

“Let me go otherwise I will be late. I hope the Lord helps us work well ” said Italian Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe as he hurried into the Vatican.

Vatican experts say the idea is to have the new pope elected during next week and officially installed several days later so he can preside over the Holy Week ceremonies starting with Palm Sunday on March 24 and culminating in Easter the following Sunday.

“Will there be a pope by Easter?” asked a journalist as a couple of cardinals walked by.

“We hope so” they said.

Apart from the sexual abuse crisis around the world, high on the agenda will be Church governance after last year’s Vatileaks scandal exposed corruption and rivalries in the Vatican’s Curia bureaucracy. Cardinals expect to be briefed on a secret report to the pope on the problems it highlighted.