By Christopher White
Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has refused to take a proper summer vacation — forgoing the tradition of popes escaping the Roman heat at the holiday villa of Castel Gandolfo outside of the city.
Even so, during July and August, the pope is taking a break from most liturgies and meetings leading to a reduced public schedule, and this week — as Francis gets some much needed rest inside Vatican walls ahead of the longest international trip of his papacy in September — three potential future popes are having their own moment in the spotlight.
While cardinals are forbidden from waging a campaign for the papacy, major public events or news surrounding them can’t help but to raise their profiles both among fellow church leaders and ordinary Catholics alike. While eventual ballots will be cast in the Sistine Chapel in secret, the public scrutiny of possible candidates began long ago.
On July 19, Francis’ secretary of state, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, arrived in Ukraine for a weeklong visit as the pope’s legate for the concluding celebration of the pilgrimage of Ukrainian Latin Rite Catholics to the country’s Marian Shrine of Berdychiv.
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