The 'charismatic' cardinal Donald Trump wants as Pope - but key detail may prevent it

A "charismatic" cardinal who is 's pick to succeed the late as pontiff is "extremely unlikely" to be elected to the hallowed role for a key reason, a papacy expert says. The Catholic Church's secretive selection process for electing the next Bishop of Rome, known as , will begin on May 7th, following the death of Francis.

The , who had suffered weeks of ill health and died on East Monday from a stroke followed by heart failure, was held in the Vatican on April 26th and attended by world leaders including Trump. The US President was subsequently , and joked: "I'd like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice." But he then added: "I have no preference. I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called who's very good, so we'll see what happens."

, who was born and raised in New York's Queens county, was likely referring to the east coast city's Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who has previously offered praise for the Republican and appeared on stage at his inauguration.

Speaking to , Professor Rebecca Rist, medievalist and papal at the University of Reading's Department of History explained that 75-year-old is "a generally conservative, and also charismatic and media savvy individual, who is much loved even by the people of Rome who would always like an pope".

But she added that despite the surprising the results the Conclave often produces, "it is extremely unlikely that Dolan will become pope because he is American".

"Since North America remains the world's - and certainly the West's - leading superpower, i.e. supreme in the political sphere in terms of both hard and soft power, it is very unlikely that the College of Cardinals will want to elect the Catholic Church's ultimate spiritual power - i.e. the pope - from the same country," the academic said.

Professor Rist says the College of Cardinals is "deeply aware of the importance of emphasising the global nature of the Catholic Church in a post-colonial, post-imperial age when Catholicism and Christianity is currently flourishing not in the West, but in the developing world".

Asked whether 's endorsement would change any minds in the , the historian said though the real estate mogul "appeals to many American Catholics, including MAGA Catholics, this will not sway the College of Cardinals in Dolan's favour".

She added that there are 10 American cardinals voting in this Conclave this year, of which Dolan is one, "which is not enough for them to secure a block vote for one of their own, even if they should wish to, which is unlikely".

Professor Rist also believes the Trump administration's recent move to slash American foreign aid "will not sit well with a College made up of a larger than usual pool of cardinals from countries which have never before been represented - due to the recent appointments of Pope Francis".

According to , a website that provides profiles of Cardinals and their stances on various issues, Dolan is "generally seen as orthodox and conservative, has been a relative moderate as archbishop of New York and often likes to teach the faith in a folksy, down-to-earth way and making use of social media to do so".

But while he has a conservative position on abortion and gay marriage, he joined Pope Francis in encouraging a softer stance on the LGBTQ+ community taking part in the life of the church.

The Missouri-born cardinal previously has previously offered praise for Trump, including when he took in a conference call with President alongside other Catholic leaders in April 2020, during which they discussed the needs of Catholic hard hit by the Covid pandemic during Trump's first term.

During the conversation, in which the GOP firebrand repeatedly made the case for his own reelection, he also called Dolan a "great gentleman" and "a great friend of mine," sentiments Dolan replied were "mutual", as per .

Dolan also joked that he had been told off by his mother for calling Trump more than her.

In a subsequent Fox interview, Dolan said "I really salute [Trump's] leadership" amid the public health crisis, whilst also praising Democratic leaders, as well as saying Trump was "particularly sensitive to the, what shall I say, to the feelings of the religious community".

He brushed off criticism from some Catholics for his perceived cosiness to Trump and went on to deliver the invocation at the President's swearing in ceremony on January 20.

However, his position on immigration has long been at odds the hardline stance of the Trump White House, and he spoken out against the administration's language on the issue.