Cardinals filed into the Vatican for preliminary meetings to sketch a profile for the next pope and ponder who among them might be best to lead a church beset by crises.

The Catholic Church marked its first Sunday in nearly eight years without a papal blessing yesterday, as cardinals gathered to elect a leader of the 1.2bn-member faith in one of the most troubled periods of its history.

Cardinals electing the new pope will be looking for a charismatic but tenacious man capable of reuniting a fractious Church, stamping down on scandals, and reigniting faith among the young.

FOLLOWING the pope’s stunning announcement, the time for the Catholic Church to elect its first non-European leader is approaching — and it could be a Latin American.

Amid all the rivalries and gossip exposed by a growing Vatican crisis, Pope Benedict’s deputy, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has emerged as the chief target of an unprecedented campaign of leaks.

SOME Vatican insiders say that when cardinals come to elect a successor to Pope John Paul II they may prefer to return to a safe Italian candidate, like the vast majority of past pontiffs.

Pope John Paul II’s absence was felt by worried followers as poor health forced him to miss major Holy Week events, and the pontiff’s suffering gave special significance to Good Friday’s ceremonies.

A FRAIL Pope John Paul II yesterday added 30 names to the list of his possible successors, installing a diverse collection of cardinals in a consistory some say may be his last.