US cardinals
There are 17 American cardinals in the College of Cardinals in February 2025. They are very visible men who are known not just in America, but to a great extent the entire Roman Catholic Church.
- Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke (age 76): Prefect Emeritus of the Apostolic Signatura of the Roman Curia.
- Cardinal Blase Joseph Cupich (age 75): Archbishop of Chicago, Illinois.
- Cardinal Daniel Nicholas DiNardo (age 75): Archbishop Emeritus of Galveston-Houston, Texas.
- Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan (age 75): Archbishop of New York, New York.
- Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell (age 77): Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life of the Roman Curia.
- Cardinal Wilton Daniel Gregory (Age 77): Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, D.C.
- Cardinal James Michael Harvey (Age 75): Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in the Roman Curia.
- Cardinal Robert Walter McElroy (Age 73) Archbishop of Washington, D.C.
- Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost (Age 69) Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
These cardinals have powerful positions influencing the Church’s spiritual and administrative leadership, locally and outside of their local jurisdiction.
Potential US contenders for Pope
While European, especially Italian cardinals have dominated the papal election for centuries, the globalisation of the Church has opened up the potential for non-European leaders, including the United States, to be welcomed.
Among the American cardinals, a few have emerged in the rumour mill as papabili:
- Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke: Cardinal Burke, infamous for his staunch conservative worldview, has long been one of the Church’s most prominent critics of the liberal faction. His conservative understanding of established dogma appeals to those eager to turn back the clock to former values.
- Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost: Cardinal Prevost, Prefect of the Bishops’ Dicastery, is another Vatican official to look at. As the bishop in charge of bishop appointments globally, he is mid-level in the Church hierarchy and an interesting choice.
- Cardinal Robert Walter McElroy: First-time election as Archbishop of Washington, D.C., during January 2025, Cardinal McElroy has been a liberal thinker across all avenues, i.e., migrant rights and embracing the LGBTQ+ community. His election also reflects the drift of the American Catholic Church on the liberal side.
The conclave process
When the papacy is vacant, the College of Cardinals assemblies in conclave and chooses the new pope. Voting is kept only for cardinals under the age of 80 years, and US cardinals constitute the majority of the total number. Voting takes place in the Sistine Chapel under strict secrecy, and consecutive votes of the cardinals are counted until a two-thirds vote majority is achieved.
The conclave is an exercise in intense prayer and reflection in which the cardinals beseech God for wisdom to select the world’s new leader in the Catholic Church. Due to the existing composition of the College of Cardinals since most of them were elected by Pope Francis, the ensuing conclave would have a tendency to mirror the theological and pastoral agenda he possessed during his reign.
