The United States is the home country of 10 of the 133 cardinals eligible to vote for the next pope of the Catholic Church. That's more than any nation except Italy, home to 17 of the electors who will gather at the Vatican's Sistine Chapel on Wednesday for the conclave that will choose a successor to Pope Francis.

All of the 133 cardinals expected to take part in the secret conclave to elect a new pope have arrived in Rome, the Vatican said on Monday, with the race to succeed Pope Francis seen as wide open. The conclave will start behind the closed,

Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, was asked about the post on the sidelines of a Mass he celebrated at a Rome church ahead of a conclave where he and other cardinals under the age of 80 will elect a successor to Pope Francis.

New York’s Catholic leaders have denounced President Donald Trump for his artificial intelligence-generated image of himself as the pope, reflecting public outcry about the insensitivity of sharing such a photo in the wake of Pope Francis’ death.