But while the names of Cardinals Scola and the Brazilian OdiloScherer may be generating more headlines than others at this stage, there is far less certainty in predictions than there was eight years ago.
The buzz swirled around Cardinal Angelo Scola, an Italian seen as favored by cardinals hoping to shake up the powerful Vatican bureaucracy, and Brazilian Cardinal OdiloScherer, a favorite of Vatican-based insiders intent on preserving the status quo.